New Year's Resolutions
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With the New Year already underway, those that have made new year's resolutions may already be finding that they are struggling to keep those resolutions. Many of us have good intentions to bring about change in our lives but it seems that statistically we are setting ourselves up for failure when it comes to New Year's Resolutions. According to a study of the American population by the University of Scranton, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, the percent of people who are successful in achieving their resolutions or New Years goals was only 8%, and it was also found that the older people are the lower their chances of successfully achieving their resolutions.
According to the same article people's top resolutions for 2014 were: Lose weight; get organised; spend less - save more; enjoy life to the fullest; and get fit. None of these are surprising, and all seem beneficial, but how do we go about achieving these goals.
It is suggested that often our goals are too general and not specific enough. So we have little chance of knowing if we have attained the goal, never mind a clear sense of what we aim to achieve or the steps required. One of the ways to manage this is to set SMART goals, SMART being an acronym for; specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. You need to know how to go about achieving your goal; and be able to measure and track your success in order to know when you have reached your set resolution..
Our goals need to be realistic, tailored to who we are. It does need to challenge us but at the same time be something we are able to achieve otherwise we are simply setting ourselves up for failure. The more we are able to reach our goals and "taste" success the more inclined we are to focus on further behaviour change and positive habit formation. Be excited and reward yourself for achieving your goals. It is better that we set small but achievable goals that are do-able rather than aim for a complete lifestyle makeover
Too often the focus of our resolution is an outcome - however, it is more beneficial to focus on changed or modified behaviour rather than an expected outcome. We are not always able to accurately predict an outcome but we are able to manage, change or alter our behaviour. If we are able to change our behaviour, we are more likely to experience a different, hopefully positive, outcome.
Be patient with yourself and the process and allow for failure. We often do not achieve our goals overnight but over a set, and sometimes, protracted period of time. The route to successfully achieving our goals is often not a straight line, if you feel you have "dropped the ball", so to speak, there is no need to give up. Try to understand why you deviated from your goal and then get back on track, even if a course correction is needed.
It is sometimes helpful to make your resolutions or goals public; this is not to say it needs to be broadcast to the world, but that you have told someone else who will hold you accountable and encourage you to achieving your goal. Of course, be selective and make sure that you are telling the right person or people. Ensure that those you tell are others who have your best interests at heart. At the same time the nature of the goal or resolution may not be something you wish to tell someone else, so use your discretion.
The above can be applied to any goals, set at any time, so you don't need to wait for 2015 to achieve change for yourself, you can begin now.
References:
http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2013/12/27/keep-new-years-resolutions-goals/4192127/
http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/2014/01/13/top-5-new-years-resolution-pitfalls-avoid/