Many of us are under the impression that New Year’s resolutions don’t work. To top it off, there are articles, tv show panellists and news presenters who feed us this too.

No wonder they don’t work come the new year…. Many of us have already convinced ourselves that they won’t!

I’m here to flip this common myth on its head today because New Year’s resolutions really do work and do come true.

Read on to find out how you can make your New Year’s resolutions come true in 2020.

 

Slow and Steady still wins the race

We’ve all heard this saying: You know the tortoise and the hair and all that.

It may be old, but it still rings true. Very true… and it’s a hell of a lot more effective than the mentality of “I want it all, I want it now and I’m going to have it all now.” – a little unrealistic, wouldn’t you say?

 

Let’s look at one of the most common New Year’s resolutions as an example: Weight loss!

A lot of people tend to take the excessive approach i.e. go on a crash diet, starve themselves silly, sign up for an expensive personal training program they can’t afford, or set unrealistic fitness goals for themselves. Is this sustainable? Hell no! this approach inevitably ends in failure.

So, what’s a slow and steady approach? Start small by incorporating a new healthy habit into your routine every week. The first week you might decide to focus on your water intake, and make it a habit to drink at least 2 litres of water per day, the following week, you might decide to join an exercise class 1 day a week, and the following you might decide to increase that to 2.

Keep it slow and steady for optimal success.

 

Less thinking, more doing

We’re all guilty of it. We decide it’s time to make a change, so we purchase all the latest bestsellers from the self-help section and read them (or at least read some of them).

This is all well and good – self-help books are great! What many of us don’t do though, is take the action that’s required after reading them. All the self-help books in the world aren’t going to help us if we don’t do anything or apply any of the learnings and tools to our own lives.

Books like these can be overwhelming too, so make it easier on yourself by choosing one self-help book at a time. Pick the thing you want to work on and focus on that for a while. If you try to change everything at once, you won’t get very far!

 

Get yourself an accountability buddy

One of the best ways to guarantee your success is to be held accountable.

So, find someone you’re close with, whether that be your partner, a family member, or friend and share your new year’s resolutions with each other. Don’t just share your resolutions, share the action items that you’re going to take in order to achieve them. Then, add a weekly ‘check-in’ time in your diary, so you can keep up to date with each other’s progress.

Share the same resolution with someone you know? Even better! Achieve it together!

Having this accountability and support is a crucial part of making your resolutions come true.

 

Start with Why

Have you ever had a goal or resolution and knew what it was that you wanted to achieve, but not exactly why?

As Simon Sinek says, “Start with why”

“Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over?

People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it.”

Watch the video here. 

This doesn’t just apply to entrepreneurs and business owners, this applies to you too, and anything that you do. If you don’t know why you’re doing it, you’ll never truly achieve it.  So, take the time to work out why you want to do what you want to do first.

 

 

New Year’s resolutions really do come true, with the right action plan using the above tips.

Don’t wait until New Year’s Eve (a rushed plan is never a good plan), start thinking and planning now.

Need help with identifying and achieving your New Year’s resolutions? Contact Perth business and life coach, Conrad Francis and Book your complimentary coaching call today.