It’s that time of year again. People around the world are stating the cliché, “New year, new me.”
Some want to become more fit, others want to improve their budgeting skills, some want to improve their GPA and some even want to find a potential soulmate, but do some only create New Year’s resolutions because it’s the common thing to do?
New Year’s resolutions require a lot of self-discipline and motivation. They are a test to see just how much you want to get to where you want to be.
According to studies, only about 8 percent of people actually go all the way through with their resolutions and more than 50 percent fall through within the first six months.
You have to resist from eating that bag of chips as a snack, have to get off the couch, forcing you to not binge watch that show on Netflix to go on that run, not spend your money on those shoes you’ve been wanting. The list goes on.
If you are really serious about achieving your goals for the year, maybe think about ways to motivate you more than saying, “It’s my New Year’s resolution.”
Find friends with similar goals and try to achieve them together. This could keep either of you from falling through because you will motivate each other to keep pushing through.
If it’s a financial goal you have, maybe set a certain thing, event or trip with friends that you are saving up for and save more than you actually need. Not only will you have enough money to have fun with, you also will have some more saved up for the future.
People are competitive by nature, so they will do anything they need to in order to be on top. It’s just how we have evolved. So, why not do a little friendly competition with friends to see who did a better job in achieving a common goal?
The group of friends that I am a part of have decided to hold a competition where whoever has the biggest transformation within five months will win the pot of money. Who doesn’t like receiving money?
It’s incentives like these that can push you more than you can do with your own willpower.
So, is it impossible to keep a New Year’s resolution? Of course not, just ask those 8 percent that actually do it, but you have to find that thing that’s going to be your drive.
Sometimes, you can’t just say you’re going to do something, and expect it to work out because the words have come out of your mouth. You have to have a plan of attack.
It takes steps to achieve a goal, and sometimes those are really small steps. You can’t go to the gym the first day and expect to wake up the next morning with results. It takes time, work and dedication.
Like the French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” When you have a plan, you know where you want to be and how you can get there.
Achieving goals is not impossible. The only thing that makes them impossible is how you approach them.
