Do you suck at sticking to New Year's resolutions? (Part 1) January 04 2015, 1 Comment

I’ve always enjoyed the New Year period. I love taking the time to reflect on the year that has passed, my challenges and achievements and how far I’ve come. Personal development has always been a passion of mine. You’re more likely to see The Power of Now, The Road Less Travelled or Buddhism for Busy People in my hands than Fifty Shades of Grey or The Lord of the Rings (that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy those books). I can’t get enough of self-help books and find them fascinating! I could literally spend hours in the self-help section of book stores! I'm also a Piscean who loves nothing more than to day dream! So for me, the ringing in of a New Year is the perfect opportunity to set new goals, intentions or resolutions if you like. It's also great to pull out the previous year's resolutions to see how you fared.

There wouldn't be too many people who haven’t set a resolution or two in their lifetime. I know most years even as a teen I would journal all of the things I would do differently or want to change. Lose weight, get fit, get up earlier, earn more money, spend less and the list would go on. Yet I would rarely achieve them. I'd be lucky to give them a second thought past February. In fact, an article by Forbes, report that only 8% of people who set resolutions actually follow through! Is it our ability to follow through though? Or does the problem lie in our resolutions themselves? Are they authentic, soul centred and meaningful? 

The top 10 resolutions reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychology for 2014 were:

1.   Lose weight

2.   Get organised

3.   Spend less, save more

4.   Enjoy life to the fullest

5.   Stay fit and healthy

6.   Learn something exciting

7.   Quit smoking

8.   Help others achieve their dreams

9.   Fall in love

10. Spend more time with family 

The age of those most successful in achieving their resolutions were those in their twenties and only 46% were working on their resolutions after six months.

The why is what interests me? Why do we set them in the first place and why are we not achieving them? Could there be a better way?

I spent Tuesday evening listening in to a live call by Gabby Bernstein who is THE spirit junkie, writer, motivational speaker and modern spiritual leader. I’m a huge fan and was lucky enough to be able to chat with her briefly about my spiritual awakening on the call. Gabby offered up some interesting perspectives on why we don’t achieve our resolutions and some sound advice on how to ensure we do. 

You have to want to change.

This is the first step. Gabby insists that if there is no real or deep desire to change in the first place then you won't get past first base. Your goal must be something you strongly want and you must be ready for change.

There must be consistency and repetition.

We’ve all heard it takes 28 days to change a habit. Well it’s true. You have to be consistent and committed for permanent behaviour change to occur.

Self-forgiveness is essential.

Gabby believes that self-forgiveness is the key to achieving your goals. We are only human and if we fall off the horse, we need to forgive ourselves and get straight back on the horse again.

Makes sense huh?

The Forbes article also adds some additional tips.

Keep it simple.

Life is busy enough. We are more likely to achieve our goals if they are simple to remember and the action plan is simple to implement.

Make them tangible.

Consider SMART goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, timely. Setting time frames can be a huge help to keep us on track and being able to measure them helps to ensure they are clear and concrete. 

Make them obvious.

Share your goals and dreams for 2015 with family and friends who can hold you accountable. Make sure the goals are visible – write them on your mirror or create a Pinterest folder or a dream board.

Believe in yourself!

Most people fall off the horse in the first place because of lack of will power. They lack the belief in themselves that they can do it. You have as much will power as you believe you have. The power of the mind is incredible. If you think you can’t then you can’t. Don’t let your mind turn your negative thoughts into self-fulfilling prophecies. 

Are you still with me? I’m also going to add a few of my own tips.

Celebrate successes.

Change can be scary, challenging and requires commitment, patience and hard work! If you reach a milestone check in with your goals and treat yourself with something special. Nothing like a little positive reinforcement to keep the motivation going. Your reward may be that if you save a certain amount of $$$ for the year you will treat yourself to an overseas holiday. This goal is measurable as each month you can check your bank balance to see how you’re tracking.

Live your resolutions.

Make your goals, intentions, desires, dreams and resolutions a reflection of who you are and what you stand for. They should be a reflection of what you want in life. Live, breathe, sleep, eat them. Incorporate your resolutions into your life, make them a lifestyle not a life change. If you’re struggling to stay focused, try changing your mindset. Be really clear on the 'why' you've chosen that goal and try rating how important each one is on a scale of 1-10 or how passionate you are about that goal.

Still with me? Now it’s your turn!

Have you set resolutions or intentions this year yet?

If so, what are they?

What are your tips?

Do you have difficulty with following through?

If you're sitting there reading this with an inkling you suck at sticking to your resolutions then email me at simone@yogamona.com.au for a complimentary 30 minute chat! Together we can workshop where you may be slipping up. If you're jumping out of your skin and ready to commit to you, book a 90 minute Supercharged Soul Session specifically for setting your resolutions and make the New Year your best yet!

Need more support, I also offer three and six month coaching programs.

I'm also going to be sharing some of my resolutions and intentions for 2015 this week so that you can hold me accountable. I'll also be giving you some handy resources that I've found revolutionise goal setting and resolutions. Stay tuned for Part 2 and 3 of Do you suck at sticking to New Year's resolutions?

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If you'd like to join the Yogamona private Facebook group to help keep you motivated and on track throughout the year come on over and say hi! xx