- Aztec calendar courtesy of admiretime via flickr
We are less than two weeks away from the start of a New Year; a time at which many people take stock of the past year and make one or more resolutions to do things differently in the New Year. For many people, their New Year’s Resolution will have something to do with their health. Some people will want to lose weight, some will want to exercise more, some will want to spend time meditating, some will want to get more sleep, etc., etc.
2. Identify why those goals are important to you. This helps provide focus and multiple motivating factors to strengthen your resolve. A person who wants to quit smoking to improve his/her health, for example, might expand that rationale to include being able to run across the park with a son or daughter, saving money, not exposing pets or children to second-hand smoke, or reducing the likelihood of polluting the environment with discarded cigarette butts. Try to provide deeply personal reasons for why you want to achieve the goals that you have set.
3. Identify specific factors that have gotten in the way of achieving those goals in the past and find ways to eliminate or work around them. We are wise to learn from our past experiences. If certain things have tripped you up in the past (people, places, environments), think about how you might avoid or change those risks this time around. This is also a good time to start to think about what changes you can make that will be realistic to implement and sustainable over the long-term.
4. Identify specific actions that you will take to work toward your goals. In the same way that we needed to define clear and measurable goals, we need to define specific actions that will get us to those goals. “Getting in better shape” is not a goal that is easily quantified, but “walk at least one mile every day” is easy to measure and assess. This is where you build the roadmap.
5. Set milestones and monitor progress. Once you have clear, actionable, and measurable goals, you can set milestones or intermediate goals and monitor your progress in achieving them. It will be easier to monitor progress if it is done automatically, such as how my Fitbit automatically tracks the distance that I walk. However, you could also start keeping a journal or a calendar on the fridge that you use to monitor progress. You could also enlist a friend or family member to help monitor your progress or to work toward a similar goal together. This is where you walk the path.
So, don’t wait folks - the New Year is right around the corner. Check out our new Plan Chapters and start preparing for your New Year’s Resolutions today.