How to Make Your Resolutions Stick

Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Becky in Love Your Body

Hello all!

Well, it was a wild and crazy holiday with lots of driving, lots of waiting in airports, and, of course, lots of food!  Luckily, there was also plenty of exercise.  How did you do on your challenge?  I am happy to report that I worked out 3 times the week of Christmas even with a nasty cold that had me coughing my lungs up, (willpower, baby!) and I got in 5 cardio sessions the week after while visiting family.  Keeping my exercise schedule consistent helped me to de-stress from the hectic schedule and general craziness of having 4 married siblings, 7 young cousins, 2 grandparents and 1 great-grandma under the same roof.

So now the holidays are behind us and we have this gigantic blank slate looming ahead of us:  A New Year.  A New Decade even.  The possibilities are endless-can you feel it?

I love moments like this.  These are the moments to dream.  To decide.  To plan.  To make goals.

However, you want to make sure you are making goals that you will actually implement in your life.  I am actually a pretty effective goal-maker and goal-achiever, (if I do say so myself).  Some call it stubborn or OC, I prefer the terms “determined” and “focused”.Here are the top 3 reasons why when I make a resolution, it WILL happen!

1.  Less is more!

So when my husband and I sit down and discuss our goals for the new year, he always sounds much more ambitious than I do.  We decide to read together, and he’s ready to plow through a book a week.  I tend to strive for a book a month.  Why?  Am I lazy?  Do I lack motivation and drive?  No!  But this is my mindset:  if I am going to make a goal, I am going to achieve it.  Period.  No ifs, ands, or buts about it.  If I write it down, it’s done.  So…there is no way that I’m going to write down a goal that I’m not sure that I can achieve. My goal has to be small enough that I can stick to it, and specific enough that I will know for certain when I’ve achieved it.

The secret is this:  if you achieve specific, smaller goals, it will give you a feeling of success and motivate you to continue forward.  Many times, I end up achieving more than I even planned.  If you set overly ambitious or nebulous goals and fall short, it will leave you feeling like a failure and kill any motivation you have to stay the course.  When you are deciding on goals, make them manageable.

2.  Write it down, Stick it up

So the second way to keep your goals is to write them down.  I don’t care where you do it, but it needs to be pen on paper, documented and undeniable.  There is something about writing down a goal that cements it in your brain, your heart, your conscious.  You can’t deny, argue, or justify yourself anymore.  It’s right there, staring you in the face.

Once you’ve written down your goals, you’ve got to put them in a place that you will see them over and over again.  I personally would shrink into the fetal position and rock myself to sleep in a straight jacket every night without my planner.  Not only does my planner keep me focused and organized, but so does a frequent “council” with my husband.  Every Sunday evening we sit down together after our kids are in bed and discuss:  the successes/failures of the past week, the schedule of the upcoming week, and update each other on how we’re progressing towards goals we have set individually and as a couple.  This meeting, more than anything else we do, keeps us both progressing.  Stick your goals up, and check up on yourself on a regular basis.

3.  Just another day in paradise

The third key to my success in goal-setting and achieving is to make your goals a part of what you’re already doing in life.  So many times we decide, “Okay!  This is it–no more!  I’m changing my life!  I vow to never eat fast food again!”  Never mind that our current lifestyle consists of a daily pitstop to the local burger joint.  It is extremely difficult to completely change your life on a dime, no matter what aspect you may be working on.

I am most successful with goals that I work into the routines of my daily life.  My husband and I have made it a goal to read scriptures with our family every day.  We have been successful at doing this because we made it part of our daily bedtime routine. My husband and I have made a goal to go on a weekly date this year.  This will fit in perfectly after a Friday evening Zumba class that I’ll be teaching.  By making our goals part of our schedule, they happen without us having to even really think about them!  When you are making your goals, think about your daily schedule and routines.  Where can you fit in some of the things that you want to do to improve yourself this year?

So, that’s it–dream away!  I have seen dreams become reality.

What tips do you have to help us all stick to our goals in 2010?