Stick to your New Year’s resolutions – 5 easy-to-follow steps

A good friend and I were having drinks the other day and the conversation turned to New Year’s resolutions. My friend complained that she’s had many years of failed new year’s resolutions and she asked me if there was anything I could recommend to her to make sure she will actually stick to them this time.

I told her about the following easy-to-follow steps which have really helped my clients when it comes to successfully sticking to and achieving their new year’s resolutions and goals.

“A year from now you might wish you’d started today”

1. Write them down!

It may sound very simple but it’s no good just having your new year’s resolutions floating around in the back of your head. In fact it could be more detrimental than anything as you’ll just get this vague nagging feeling that you should be doing something and that will cause you stress. Writing down your new years’ resolutions and goals shows a clear commitment by you to change things. Having a written document will also allow you to review your new year’s resolutions during the year to see how far you’ve come and to keep you on track. To find out more about writing effective new year’s resolutions, check out my article 8 helpful hints for effectively writing and achieving your goals.

2. Workout your why.

Identifying why you want to achieve a certain goal or a new year’s resolution will help keep you motivated when you come across any hurdles or start losing your drive. Ask yourself why you want to buy a bigger house? Why do you want to gain an extra qualification? Write down yours answers as it will make it easier for you to recall when you need to keep motivated.

3. Make an action plan to put your resolutions in place.

You need to take action to achieve what you want in life, it’s as simple as that. It really isn’t any use sitting at home thinking about how you’d like to be fit enough to do a 10km run, you need to get out there and train. If you don’t take action to increase your fitness you will collapse after 500 metres. Write specific and positive actions for each new year’s resolution or goal. Make sure you put a completion date behind them. For example: “go for 2 x 5km runs and 1 x 10km bike ride each week and 1 x 10km run each weekend until the 10km run takes place on 31 March 2018”.

4. Get a buddy.

Team up with a positive and encouraging friend or professional life coach who’s interested in your success and tell them what you’re doing so that they can help motivate you and keep you on track. The advantage of getting a professional as your buddy is that they will present an objective ear, can draw on their extensive experience with similar situations and will be dedicated to you in the time you see them without any distractions.

5. Schedule reviews.

Schedule fortnightly or monthly appointments in your calendar to review your new year’s goals and see how you’re going. Tick off the goals you’ve achieved and focus on the ones you haven’t yet. Don’t forget to celebrate because this cements your achievements and feeds your confidence about achieving more goals. Life can take some unexpected turns so review any outstanding goals to check if they are still relevant and tweak and add new ones as necessary.

Based on extensive experience with my clients, following these suggestions will really help you achieve your new year’s resolutions. Wishing you a happy and prosperous 2018 with plenty of action, determination and fun :-).

If you would like any help keeping you on track with your new year’s resolutions, then I can help! My name is Anky and I’m an experienced life coach and positive parenting trainer. I help people achieve their goals and make positive life changes. I’m different from other life coaches due to the fact that my experience and qualifications allow me to work with people holistically on all aspects of their lives, both professionally and personally. Additionally, if you are a parent, I can help you navigate that tricky road too!  Book your FREE 15 minute consult now to find out how I can help you.