Is this year going to be the year that you finally smash your New Year resolutions, or will you let them drift away once again?
If you’re determined to make them a success this time around, then the following simple tips really could be the key to making sure you nail it this time around…
80% of New Year Resolutions will fail. Don’t join them this time.
The new year is not long upon us and you’re already sinking back into old habits.
Your initial optimism for a new start is beginning to feel decidedly mundane and familiar. You’ve skipped the gym a few times now and there’s no way you’re going out for a bike ride in that weather.
Related: How to redesign your boring life
As January becomes February, you might find that you’re still out of shape and feeling uninspired. Nothing has changed, again.
You’re not alone. According to one US study, 80% of New Year resolutions fail before February, citing either a lack of clear goals, feeling overwhelmed by the size of the task, or simply not being ready to make a change.
Resolutions are great to make at this time of year when a ‘clean-slate’ is on the horizon. However, once the reality of work/life/bills/shopping kicks back in amid the drizzle of January – and you actually have to get out there and make the change – it becomes quite another matter.
Related: Cardio or weights. Which is best for weight loss?
Everyone has a dream
So what happens now?
Why do we make these resolutions in the first place? What made you say “Next year, I’m going to get fit and run a marathon” or “cycle across India” in the first place?
Where do these ideas come from?
Deep down inside us all, we have hopes, dreams and aspirations. Ideas that we have, people that we admire and would love to emulate. They usually come to us in the small, quiet moments that we get every now and again, but get quickly forgotten and buried beneath the noise of every day.
But they never die. They lie silently waiting for a moment of reflection that rarely comes.
But then, during the optimism and intensity of the New Year festivities, when the party’s in full swing, they can bubble up from deep within. Energised by the expectations and freshness that a new year brings.
As the words spill out, you may wonder where they came from. Who said that? Me?
The 3 simple tips to help you Smash your New Year Resolutions this year
#1 Write them down and get clear
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”
Greg S. Reid
Those words came out for a reason, and the most important thing you can do now is to hold onto them. Write them down and review them in the cold light of day – ideally, once the new year has begun.
It’s natural to want something more, something different in life. Why wouldn’t you want to do something amazing, to be the person you visualise in your dreams?
Ask yourself honestly. Why did I make that New Year Resolution?
Whatever your resolution may be (Be a nicer boss, get fit, stop smoking) you need to make sure that you get crystal clear on what you want your outcome to be.
“I’m going to get fit” is too vague. “I’m going to lose 10 kilos” is not inspiring enough. Get specific and get inspired. “I’m going to work out 3 times a week until I feel energised and when I look in the mirror I will like what I see”.
#2 Decide and put yourself in control
The hardest part is to decide that you’re going to make the change – but here lies the power. Once you decide, and you really decide that you’re going to do it – you’ve put yourself in control.
So, we know that you made your resolution for a reason, you wrote it down and now that you’ve decided in the cold light of day that you’re going to take action and be in control, it’s time to do something about it.
It’s time to smash your new year resolutions once and for all.
#3 Make yourself accountable. Sign up for a charity fundraiser
I guarantee, if you were to sign up right now for a charity fundraiser through Just Giving, GoFundMe or one of the many other funding sites available, share it on social media and have a few people sponsor you, you will make yourself 100% accountable for completing your task, and therefore stand a far, far greater chance of hitting your goal than keeping just it to yourself.
Once you’ve done that, there’s no backing down.
Over the years, how many times have you made resolutions to yourself without telling anybody else about them, or even writing them down? I’ll bet that at least 90% of those resolutions went out the window without ever seeing the light of day.
Without any commitment to anybody or anything, it’s easy to let your goals quietly fade and die.
#4 Take action
Now that you’re clear, have decided and made yourself accountable, it’s time to set the wheels in motion. Follow these steps to really smash your New Year Resolutions. This year, I challenge you to really make something happen.
First: Set your task
“The secret to living is giving”
Tony Robbins
Think of something that you could do for a good cause that would not only help others but would also meet your goal as well.
It could be something as simple as ‘Run in my local 5k’ or as bold as ‘climb Mount Everest’.
Second: Start your fundraising page
Start your fundraising page and share it on social media.
Just do it. It takes no more than 15 minutes. You don’t need to try and make a fortune, just aim for a few hundred.
This will immediately mark your challenge as real. It is now exposed to the world and you now have to commit to it. Especially once people start donating.
Third: Plan your training and create new habits
It’s important to make sure that you give yourself enough time to train for your event. If your resolution is to get fit, then this is where it’s going to happen.
Working toward this goal is the perfect opportunity to break some old habits and create some new ones. Check out this awesome article by James Clear on How To Start New Habits That Actually Stick.
If you decide to run in a 5k event next week, then that’s probably not going to be enough time to form a new habit.
Ideally, you want to be looking at stretching yourself and giving yourself time to build up your fitness, creating a new routine which you can maintain after the event.
Why not challenge yourself to run a 10k in 2 months time?
Fourth: Involve others
If you need more motivation (and accountability) then why not invite a friend to join you?
Being able to support each other will not only push you through the hardest of training days – but could also double your sponsorship funds!
Fifth: Change your shoulds to musts
When you change something from a should to a must, that’s when things really start to happen. Compare this…
“I must go for a run this morning….” (I have no alternative, I’m running a 10k next month to raise money for cancer sufferers) to this “Maybe I should go for a run today to keep fit”.
Which statement is going to get you out of the door?
Check out this two-minute video by Tony Robbins on the subject of making things a must.
Making it happen
If you’ve made it this far and have decided that this year you’re really going to take on a new challenge and smash your New Year Resolutions, then your life is about to get very exciting as you prepare for your event.
There will be new skills to learn and new opportunities as you busy yourself planning and training.
Knowing that you’ve committed to helping others will spur you on much more than just trying to motivate yourself and give you a much greater sense of pride and fulfilment.
Come the big day of your event, when the hairs are standing up on the back of your neck with anticipation, you’ll be glad you didn’t give up today. You’ll be glad that you went on to smash your New Years Resolutions.
If this post inspired you, and you went out this year and smashed your New Year Resolutions, let me know in the comments below, I’d love to hear about your struggles and successes.