6 Strategies for Sticking to Your New Years Resolutions
Hello AG Army!
It’s that time of year again, New Year’s resolution time. Some of us choose to set New Year’s Resolutions and some of us think they are silly. It’s always good to have a system of accountability and many athletes can tell you that goal setting is one of the most powerful tools to achieve success. Here are some tools and tips to helping you set good goals for your New Year’s resolutions or for any time of year!
1. Write goals down and review them periodically
Resolutions that aren’t written down and kept track of are destined to fail quickly. So, write them out, and not just anywhere. Keep your list of New Year’s goals in a place where you will be reminded of them regularly, so you can review your progress and re-commit on a consistent basis.
Ideas:
- Tape your goals to your bathroom mirror where you’ll see them first and last thing every day or keep them in a notebook in your gym bag or perhaps taped to your fridge.
- For goals that require some accountability for success, affix them next to your laptop so that you see them when you sit down to do work.
- Take a photo of your resolutions and post them as your computer screensaver or as your smart phone wallpaper. Get creative! There are a lot of apps out there to make fun and visually appealing collage style pictures.
2. Create goals for different areas of your life
Sure, you may be most concerned that you get your finances in order, but how about those other areas of life? If you set one or two goals in each of them, you’re bound to see a ripple effect in every area.
Ideas:
- Gym goals
- Relationship goals
- Supplementation goals
- Work goals
- Spiritual goals
- Diet & Health goals
- Finance goals
3. Set goals that are realistic and attainable
While it would be great to lose 30 pounds of fat and put on 30 pounds of muscle in a month, get completely out of debt by next week, and get a new job that pays twice your salary in the coming New Year, you do want to make sure that any resolutions you set are ones you can actually accomplish over the next 12 months. So instead of setting a huge goal that involves lots of steps, work on framing your resolutions as smaller goals that can be accomplished reasonably.
Ideas:
- I will replace my nighttime snack of a bowl of ice cream with delicious Warzone Whey pudding!
- I will pay $25 a week towards my smallest debt and save on my supplements by taking advantage of buy in multiples at www.agarmy.com.
- I will revise my resume and then begin to look online for available jobs in my skill set.
4. Make goals that are truly measurable
In order to stick to your New Year’s resolutions, you need to be able to see consistently that you’re on the right track. The best way to do that is to set goals that can be measured again and again over short periods of time. Having a system of checks and balances will allow you to keep tabs on that success!
Example Ideas:
- I’ll sit at the table with my children for breakfast at least five mornings a week. Instead of, I’ll make more time for my family.
- I’ll invite one friend out for gym date every other Wednesday evening. Instead of, I’ll be better at keeping in touch with friends.
- I’ll straighten the house for 15 minutes every day after dinner. Instead of I’ll keep my house cleaner.
5. Design goals that can be accomplished with a partner or friend
What are the main reasons New Year’s resolutions are so hard to fulfill? They’re hard work and no one tends to notice if you give up on them! So, go ahead and change that by teaming up with a friend or spouse to accomplish some of your goals together! You’re definitely going to have more fun when you’re working as a team, and you won’t be so enticed to give up if someone else is counting on your support.
Ideas:
- Sign up for a fitness challenge at your local gym with a friend or group of friends.
- Swap off nights with your husband to check your kids’ homework or read aloud to them from a favorite book.
6. Incentivize yourself for attaining your goals
Finally, the reward! You’ll be much more motivated to set resolutions next year if you can remember the thrill and the payoff of accomplishing goals this year. Just make sure that your reward doesn’t make it harder to accomplish any of your other goals. So, if you’re trying to cut back on debt, don’t reward yourself for dropping 10lbs with a trip to Jamaica!
Ideas:
- Treat yourself to a girls’ spa party at home after you accomplish that 12-week fitness challenge.
- Buy a stack of Advanced Genetics Hormone Support products once you accomplish a specific number of goals gym goals.
- Allocate a few dollars more to savings each week you pay down a debt and do something fun with the savings you have put away when the debt is paid off.
