Staying On Track With NYE Resolutions

Last week we discussed how to make New Year's resolutions that you could actually keep, so now we’ll dive deeper into how to hold onto your New Years' resolutions when they start getting wobbly. 

As the weeks turn into months and day-to-day life gets in the way, it is so easy to tell yourself one of your [200 lies] that you’ll just pick up your resolution “later” or “when things settle down” as if later exists OR that things will ever settle down enough that going backwards would be appealing or even possible.

The sobering fact is that for those who made a New Years' resolution, only around 75% of 2022 resolution-makers will still at it by the time this article is released. 

The following week, that percentage drops to 71%. 

By February, we’re down to 64%. 

And by June, only 46% are still going strong with their resolutions.

So how do you keep your 2022 resolutions from becoming just another negative statistic?

LET GO OF PERFECTIONISM

As much as you can strive for perfection, the truth is that no one, not even you or I, will ever be perfect or do things 100% perfectly all the time. 

So, start by letting go of holding yourself or your resolutions to that standard. 

When things get hard, or you begin to falter in your goals, be mindful to avoid an all-or-nothing mindset. 

Strive to be resilient rather than perfect. 

An all-or-nothing outlook is not a mindset that you want to encourage or that will serve you in the long run—that kind of a mindset creates a restrictive binary reality where you either win everything or lose it all … which is definitely not going to support you, reduce your stress OR increase your happiness. 

Each day you have an opportunity to do better than you did yesterday. And if today is a bit wobbly, do what you can do and focus on improving your results tomorrow. 

My trainer always tells me that the days where I seem a bit weaker and everything is a bit harder count for twice … which may or not be true but it sure feels good after what I viewed as a crappy workout!

So get back on the horse as soon as you can. Don't throw the horse away because you fell off. 

And that most definitely is how you should be viewing your home and your relationship with clutter … particularly if you’re just starting a process of decluttering.

If you have an “off” day and things don’t quite make it back into their homes … I would hope you don't just give up and surrender to clutter.

Aim for some low-hanging fruit.

Put the dishes in the dishwasher or wash them by hand and get them out of the sink.

Put your keys in their home.

Put the recycling IN the recycling bin.

Any small win will instantly get you back in the game. Pick yourself up, pick the clutter up—and resume decluttering where you left off. 

BE REALISTIC

Setting unrealistic goals is the number one reason most New Year's resolutions fail.

Aiming for the moon before you know how to fly is setting yourself up for failure. 

It is great to dream big—in order to succeed with those big dreams, you’ll need a solid game plan with achievable and consistent benchmarks. 

33% of New Year's resolutions that fail were made by people who did not track their progress. 

Instead of setting grand unrealistic goals that aren't easy to track, take the time to refine your resolution. 

For example, if your New Year's resolution is to "get in shape," that’s too vague.

Chunk “get into shape” into smaller, easy to evaluate AND maintain goals by deciding on a set number of days you can and will work out, along with a meal plan that isn’t so demanding that you can actually follow. 

This way, each day and each week, you can track your progress toward your larger goal of “getting into shape” and course correct as needed.

Aiming for some generalized goal with no consistent benchmarks or milestones almost ensures you won’t be able to establish progress or measure results which inevitably leads to failure. 

THE QUESTION-BEHAVIOR-EFFECT

Changing behaviors and how you live can be difficult. 

But changing your mindset may be easier than you imagine. 

When working towards your goals, ask yourself about the behavior you would like to change instead of demanding THAT you change your behavior immediately. 

This method is known as the "question-behavior-effect," and it has been shown to get better results than simply demanding or stating your intention of changing your behavior. 

When you include your mindset in the process, you increase your odds of success and those wins sometimes last more than six months after the question is presented.  

The key is to ask a question that can be answered with a definitive yes or no. 

So instead of telling yourself that you will work out two times per week, ask yourself, "Will I work out two times per week to improve my health?" "Yes." 

The question in this effect offers a light reminder of what you are trying to achieve while also creating a bit of some discomfort when you don’t follow through on your desired goal, in this example, working out. 

This discomfort motivates change, reminding yourself that you are not displaying healthy behaviors and could be making better choices. 

When you find yourself struggling to stay motivated, give this a try for an extra dash of inspiration. 

THE BOTTOM LINE

While a large percentage of New Year's resolutions fail, you are still more likely to make changes if you make one than if you don't. 

Set yourself up for success by choosing the correct planning, tracking, and motivation for your goals. 

You don't just want to feel better. You want to BE better. 

Take things one day at a time, and don't be too hard on yourself if or when you stumble or fall. 

Get up. Dust off your knees … and make today better than yesterday. 

When you learn to consistently meet each of life's curveballs with this attitude, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. 

And if part of your New Years' resolution is to get more organized or to declutter any part of your life, you don't want to miss our 5-Day De-Stress Your Mess Challenge.

The next challenge is delivered LIVE every night, and starts Monday, January 17 and runs through Friday, January 21, 2022—all events are at 8:00PM Eastern (New York) Time. 

You can register here.