It’s that time again! New Year’s Eve – A new year begins!
If you not already did, it is now the time to make your 2021 New Year’s resolutions!

But be careful. Because we all know the usual New Year’s resolutions. And there they are – every year again: ‘I want to lose weight! I want to do more sports!’ Highly motivated you start your new year. Maybe you start even on the first of January directly with fasting, in order to get there with losing weight.
And on the second of January (on the first of January you usually have to clean up too much) you simply go running for 3 miles even though you’ve never actually done that before.
If you are particularly strong-willed, you can make it to the second week or even to February. But usually by then, at the latest, the drive is gone.
Does this sound familiar to you? If so, you are not alone! Because that’s how it is for most of us!

Why is it like that? Where is the problem?

The answer is simple. The problem is that we are human beings😊.

But of course, I would like to explain this in more detail. Our daily behavior consists largely of habits, as this is the most economical for us humans. Our brain, therefore, tries to keep us in this energy-saving mode. Everything that is new first of all stresses the body.
That’s why any kind of change is challenging, but by no means impossible.

To achieve your good resolutions for the new year you have to ask yourself:
How can you make your 2021 New Year’s resolutions stick? How exactly does that work?

Make a decision!

The process of change begins in the mind with a decision! Let’s take the example of ‘I want to lose weight’.
Especially after the Christmas season with all the cookies and sweets, this is a widespread desire.

I, too, would like to make my diet healthier again than it was during the Christmas season, and I would also like to exercise more regularly again.

Your resolution should become a goal.

Formulate correctly!

The first step from a good resolution to a real goal is done! You have made a decision!
And with it, you have significantly increased the probability of achieving your goal.
But now it is also very important to formulate your decision correctly.
You write it down on a piece of paper. The pure act of writing it down already has a positive effect on reaching your goal. When writing it down, it is also important not to write down ‘I want to lose weight’ in general, but very specifically, e.g. ‘I will lose 10 pounds by Dec 31st, 2021’.
Now this kind of wording has several advantages.
First, it is now specific (’10 pounds’), second, it is written in the present tense (‘I am losing’), as if one had already achieved the goal, and furthermore, the wording contains a time limit (’12/31/2021′).

These advantages, coupled with the fact that you also wrote it down, increase the probability of achieving it many times over.
There is a study on this by Gail Matthews, Ph.D., at Dominican University.

Frequently, one also finds information in books about a Yale and a Harvard study on this topic. However, these studies seem to be a popular myth.
That’s why I’m grateful to Gail Matthews for taking up this topic again and also for elaborating on the benefits of writing it down.
But Matthews’ study went even beyond that and one can also take advantage of the further results.

Use boost-tricks!

The study also showed that it is very helpful to involve an additional person, e.g. a friend, in the project. This second person regularly reminds you of your plan and you in turn regularly tell this person about your partial successes.
Keeping yourself busy with the goal and reciting the goal as an affirmation every day will also help you to achieve your goals faster.

Create a plan!

Here happens, in my opinion, the actual transformation of a good resolution or a wish into a concrete goal.
This point sounds really unsexy and yet it is SO IMPORTANT!
In this step, you think about an action plan. So you ask yourself specifically, ‘what can I do each quarter/ month/ week/ every day to achieve my goal?’
To do this, you need your current state. So stand on the scale (in the example I chose) and read your result. For example, as I already said, you want to lose 10 pounds, which is about 13.3 oz/ month (160 oz: 12 ~ 13.3 oz). Calculated even further down, that would be about 13.9 oz per day. However, this small daily weight change is hardly detectable, since the weight fluctuates daily.
So let’s rather stick to the monthly target here.

The next question is, ‘what can I do to reach my monthly goal?’ As an answer, the two points nutrition and exercise immediately come to mind. And this is exactly where you should start now.

For example, ‘I’m going to eat some fruit after dinner starting today instead of the candy bar.’ And an exercise goal might be, ‘I’m going to increase my step count by 5,000 steps a day.’

These are just (effective) examples, but each person has his own goals, his own daily routine, and his individual character traits, etc….
What I’m getting at is that the concrete measures everyone has to DECIDE, WRITE down, and MEASURE for themselves.

Use your calendar!

That sounds just as unsexy as ‘create a plan’. You don’t want to hear something like that – at least that’s how I feel.I suspect it’s because you often only put the annoying appointments in a calendar, like a visit to the dentist or something similar with that.

Also, writing on the calendar makes it very concrete, making it harder to invent an excuse for yourself to avoid doing what you wrote down.
Using the calendar is therefore a simple and effective step in achieving goals.

Act with joy and other positive feelings!

Try to bring as much joy as possible into your endeavor. For example, if you go running, listen to an inspiring, exciting audiobook or motivating music – whatever you like.

Reward yourself for your partial successes. If, for example, you didn’t want to eat any sweets all week and managed to do so, why not treat yourself to something sweet on Sunday as a reward? Of course, you should then choose the quantities that do not undo your achieved result.

It would be even better to choose a reward that falls into the same category as the activity you want to make a new habit of.
In the case I have in mind, we are talking about health. You could, for example, treat yourself to a professional massage or something similar as a reward.

Achieving goals is always about changing at least one habit. As I described above, this is very difficult.
Therefore: Reward yourself and don’t be too hard on yourself when you are slack. We are human beings, not machines!
After a small setback, simply resume the path you have taken. This will make you even stronger and fill you with pride.
That’s a promise!
You may need several attempts, but please try again and again, and you will succeed in the end.
This is also guaranteed!

We humans usually act out of feelings. We should take advantage of this when achieving our goals. For example, besides joy, you could be aware of the feelings you have when you achieve your goal. How about pride or self-confidence…?
You should create a joyful expectation in yourself. This will motivate you.

Summary

If you take these listed points to heart and implement them, you will make your New Year’s resolutions stick.

Admittedly, it requires some work in advance, e.g. to think about an effective formulation of the goal or to create a plan with the corresponding subgoals.
The better and more precise your preliminary thoughts are, the faster you will reach your goal.

I hope this guide has brought you some added value.
If so, you may also be interested in the following article ‘Consistency – 5 Ways How to Be Consistent‘. In it, I also explain the well-known system of S.M.A.R.T. goals.

I would also like to recommend the very appropriate book ‘Atomic Habits‘*. It is about valuable insights around the topic of habits and habit formation. By reading the book you will dive deeper into the topic of this blog article.

Finally, now a few questions for you:

Which of my tips was new to you?
Which tip is particularly valuable?
Do you have any other ideas that contribute to achieving goals?

Then feel free to write it in the comment box down below.
I’m always happy to receive feedback.

I wish you that this year will be your best year😊

Michael

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