HOW TO ACTUALLY STICK TO YOUR RESOLUTIONS

Do you chuckle at the countless memes that appear this time of year with “New Year, Same Me” and think “yep, that sounds about right”? I get it. We all have these grand plans of making these big changes and then four days in we’re like “what’s one bag of hot cheetos?”.

You are not alone my friend! Every year I have things like “go to yoga 5 times a week” and “spend less money on clothes this year” on my list but guess what? I love clothes. And I suck at yoga. So while I write these resolutions with the best of intentions there is always some part of me that knows that they’re not necessarily realistic.

Goals are critical to self development and improvement and I think they’re a great way for us to imagine what we want our worlds to look like and who we want to be. That being said, it takes motivation, dedication and discipline to make resolutions stick. It’s definitely not easy (unless your New Year’s resolution was to stay exactly the same, in which case, good for you) but it’s certainly not impossible.

I’m listing my top tips for actually sticking to your resolutions and getting the results you envisioned when you wrote them. So toss those deliciously addicting hot cheetos in the trash and let’s get to work!

1. REALISTIC RESOLUTIONS ARE THE FIRST STEP

Take a look at your list and ask yourself, “are these realistic?”. Do your resolutions seem like something you  could actually stick to? I’m not saying to give up on the ones that seem out of reach but are a part of your dreams and aspirations. What I’m saying is you should look at your lifestyle and think about what sort of changes you would have to make realistically to accomplish that goal. For example, if you are obsessed with bread and one of your New Year’s resolutions was to start a carb free diet but you work in a bakery you might (by might I mean definitely) find it difficult to stick to that one. Unless you plan on quitting your job and starting an entirely new lifestyle, but if that isn’t the case then you may want to consider making some modifications. Why not make it a diet that consists of less carbs and more veggies? You don’t want to set yourself up for failure here, so make sure you’re thinking realistically when writing these down. Feel free to go back and edit your current list with some updates if necessary.

2. KEEP THEM VISIBLE

I get really crafty with it every year and write down my resolutions on cute construction paper, with different colored pens and I’ve even been known to add a sticker or two. I make my resolutions easy on the eyes because I keep them posted in front of my vanity all year long so I can look at them every day. Resolutions aren’t really resolutions if you write them in a notebook, put it in a drawer and never look at them again. Then they’re just nice ideas. If you’re able to look at them every day not only are you reminded to you know, stick to them, but you’re also giving yourself some accountability and ultimately inspiration. One of my 2016 goals was to replace my hubcapless, dented, sad excuse for a vehicle with a new car. I ended up getting a car that I love (#loveyoubev) and every time I saw that resolution on my list after I had already completed it I felt so much joy and accomplishment. It feels good to actually do what you said you were going to do. Shocking, I know.

3. MAKE YOUR RESOLUTIONS “SMART”

An acronym I use at work all the time is the SMART Action Plan. It stands for “Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely”. This is a great lens to keep in mind when putting a plan together to reach your goals. For example, if one of your resolutions is to save more money then you would definitely want to create an action plan for it. “Save more money” is extremely vague and if you don’t expand on it then you’re basically setting yourself up for failure from the beginning. What would make this resolution “SMART”? Well, maybe you would say that you specifically want to save $5,000 this year, and you’re going to be able to measure that by opening a new savings account that you can track on your phone. You will make this goal actionable by creating and sticking to a new budget that will account for moving money over to your savings account every month. After you create your budget you see that realistically you’ll be able to move over $500 every month while still being able to pay your bills and afford other expenses that are important to you. To make this goal timely you create a timeline and see that if you follow every step you’ve listed you’ll be able to save $5,000 in ten months or by October 2017. Boom. Math. Now you’ve taken a pretty vague and general statement and turned it into an actual plan that has smaller, achievable steps that will make it a thousand times easier to reach.

4. CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF

Speaking of timelines, I think it’s really important that you schedule “check in” dates throughout the year so you can see your progress and get back on track if necessary. Put these in your planner, on your google calendar or in your phone with a notification so you’re reminded to reference your goals. I have my “check in” dates scheduled 4 times a year, every three months. This way I can stay accountable and celebrate my success. This is especially useful for time sensitive goals. For example, if you have a goal to save a certain amount by August for your vacation to Hawaii then you will definitely want to review your progress monthly to ensure you’re on track to have enough saved for your trip. If you check in with your goal and you’re like “what goal?” then perhaps start making those check in dates a little bit closer together. Don’t be discouraged if you got sidetracked and threw your goal out the window. You can always readjust the time line and start fresh.

5. GET AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

It’s just easier to do things with a friend sometimes. During the brief period of time when I was attempting to be a gym person (and I mean, very brief) I went with my friend Jillian and felt so much more confident and comfortable when I was there. When I would go by myself I would get so intimidated by all of the machines I didn’t know how to use that I would just end up “running” (i.e. not really running) on the treadmill for 15 minutes before hitting up the smoothie shack on my way out the door. Needless to say I cancelled that membership. While we would all like to believe that we are capable of being accountable, responsible adults that just isn’t always the case. And that’s okay! You just need to find a friend who wants to accomplish the same goal as you or someone who has already reached that goal so you can use them as inspiration. You can check in with each other daily or weekly and cheer each other on! You can also remind each other of you goals when you start to put them on the back burner.

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I would love to hear about your goals for 2017! Tell me in the comments 🙂 or shoot me an email.

Xoxo,

She