So you’ve fully recovered from any New Year celebrations, gone back to work and started to get used to writing a different year. How are the New Years resolutions going? Is what seemed much easier at the turn of the New Year beginning to seem not as easy?
New beginnings; be it the start of a calendar or academic year, a birthday, a new job or a new family, often is a time when people review where they are and what they want to be different. Here are just some of the many tips and questions to make any goals you set yourself easier to achieve than they have been in the past.
I know that many resolutions are given up on very early after the first stumble, and there is a Japanese proverb – fall down seven times, stand up eight times, which applies here. Remember that you set yourself an end goal, it doesn’t matter how many times you have slipped or fallen it’s whether you get up and carry on that will determine if you get there in the end or not.
One of the things I ask pretty much all my individual clients is what they think is their greatest achievement so far, many of them list things that although were challenging at the time, they completed them and are now very proud of that success. So, even if you have slipped once or twice you can still get up and keep going.
To help you along the way here are 8 questions to make that journey easier and more fun.
I invite you to take as long as you want to answer the following questions:
1. Loosing weight, stopping smoking, getting more confidence are all pretty common new years resolutions, maybe even one of yours for this year. But is that what you really want? Generally, people are more motivated and inspired to keep going, even if they have stumbled, if what they are working towards is what they really want. Not what someone-else wants you to do or something that you should do, what is it you really want?
2. What would that mean for you?
For example, what you may want from stopping smoking is to be able to climb the flights of stairs without getting out of breath. If you want to lose weight, maybe you want to be able to walk without your thighs rubbing together, maybe (with full acknowledgement to the TV show) you want to look good naked.
3. What have you been telling yourself that has been getting in the way of your getting what you want up to now?
4. Which of those old reasons are no longer relevant for you now?
5. What could you do to sidestep, overcome, and generally get round any obstacles between what you want and where you are?
6. How would this new goal fit into the rest of your life and your values?
7. What action will you take? Every journey begins with the first step, all you need to do is decide upon where you want that particular journey to finish, and then focus on the next step that you can take to get there. You can re-navigate if you need to after that first step, but you need to take that step to get there.
Having answered those questions here’s some other thoughts to help you on the way to achieving those new years resolutions.
Research carried out by the American Society for Training and Development concluded that the likelihood of achieving a goal were effected by the following actions:
If you
* Hear an idea there is a 10% probability you will complete your goal
* Consciously decide to adopt an idea there is a 25% chance you will complete your goal
* Decide when you will do it, then the probability rises to 40%
* Plan how to do it then there is a probability of 50 % you will complete your goal.
* Commit to someone else, chances raise to 65%
* Have a specific accountability “appointment” with someone, there is a 95% likelihood you will attain your goal.
8. I doubt the above will surprise anyone who works with a someone on a one to one basis on their goals/new years resolutions and I mention it so that you can re-look at what your next step is – can you make it even easier and more fun?
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