Only 8% of people who create a New Year’s Resolution actually achieve their goals.
Have you ever set a New Year’s resolution or tried to achieve a goal and weren't able to follow through? Well, you're not alone.
Why is that?
Most people aren't specific with what they want, they create goals that were never achievable in the first place, they don't have the right mindset, or they allow distractions to get in the way.
They treat their resolution as a hobby - they dabble in it for a few weeks, hit a plateau and then don't keep pushing forward. They don't make a plan, they don't get a coach, life gets in the way, and they give up.
Everyone could come up with multiple excuses or reasons why they weren’t successful, but really these boil down to just four main points that I’ve discovered, which I will outline below:
1. They do not have an achievable plan
While it is great to set resolutions that stretch you, if they aren’t actually achievable, you will feel like you are always chasing your goals but never fully reaching them.
With that, it is important to lay your resolutions out into SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-Bound). Do this for each month, plan your actions out and put them on the calendar. Make sure that you are paying attention to the “R” so that these goals are truly Realistic.
I see people make this mistake a lot, they say “I am going to do this 7 days a week!” and then they only actually complete 3 days a week, feel like they are a failure and quit. So instead, I encourage you to start off small and take small steps over time to reach your goal. And with each step – make sure to celebrate your progress!
Which leads me to the second reason people fail with their resolutions….
2. They do not celebrate their success!
How often will you complete something and then say “well, I got that done, but I really should have done it better, I should have done it like this, or for this long, or blah blah blah”? When you participate in negative self-talk like that, it’s not motivating to keep going.
Take this analogy – when you work for a boss, if that boss is always talking down to you and telling you how you didn’t do something very well, and you should have done a certain task better….how motivated would that make you to want to keep working for them? Not very. Versus, if your boss is constantly praising you, telling you what an awesome employee you are and how much he appreciates your work. Then how motivated are you to keep working? Super motivated right?
Well, it is the same with ourselves – when we talk down to ourselves, we aren’t that motivated to keep going. But when we recognize ourselves, speak kindly to ourselves and celebrate ourselves, we become more inspired to keep going, to continue with our goal, and to keep moving forward!
This sounds like a little thing – but it makes a huge difference. Every time you finish your goal, I want you to CELEBRATE! Speak kind words to yourself and ONLY kind words to yourself after you finish your task. Just try it for a week and notice the difference that it makes.
This leads us to the 3rd reason people fail at their resolutions, which is….
3. They do not have the right mindset
If you go into a goal thinking that you are going to fail – guess what? You are more likely to fail. Because, as the old adage goes, whether you think you can, or think you can’t – you’re right. And that’s so true! It is important to identify the limiting beliefs and the fears that you have around why you can’t achieve something. Understand that they are just beliefs and stories that you’ve built up in your mind and that they are no longer serving you.
Tony Robbins says “Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Human beings have the awesome ability to take any experience of their lives and create a meaning that disempowers them or one that can literally save their lives.”
So what is the belief that you want to go into this next year with? Is it one of “I can do this! I can achieve anything I set my mind to!” or is it one of “This is so hard, I’ll never be able to do this”? Your choice determines your outcome and your ability to achieve or not.
And finally…the 4th reason people fail at their resolutions is…
4. They do not have a coach, mentor or support group
Most people who has ever been successful have either had a coach or mentor supporting them, pushing them and holding them accountable along the way. One of the reasons that people fail at their resolutions is because they don’t set themselves up to succeed by receiving support. They go ahead on their own, hit a plateau and don’t keep pushing forward.
The majority of people today are “dabblers”, because technology teaches us to get something instantly, so when we aren’t achieving results instantly in our life we get frustrated and quit. We dabble in different activities.
However, when you have a coach and support group holding you accountable and supporting you, they help you get over that plateau – they teach you to say “Oh! A plateau! This is to be expected,” and they help you get right back on track.
So.....knowing all of this.....What does next year look like for you? What do you finally want to achieve?
How would your life change if YOU were able to finally create lasting results in one area of your life you've always wanted to change and celebrate yourself in 2017?
What would it take to make that possible, for you, your family and your life?
Imagine how proud of yourself you would feel when you finally accomplished this goal, and prove to yourself that you really can step up and make huge changes to your life, your world, your dreams. Imagine how you would change, how your relationships would improve, how you would feel unstoppable with momentum!
Whatever your picture of success looks like to you, really allow yourself to see it. Imagine it with as much detail and enthusiasm as you can. Imagine what life would be like if you said YES!
Not saying YES sometime in the distant future. Saying YES to yourself and your dreams starting right now, TODAY!
The problem with "Someday I'll" is that you won't actually do it. "Someday I'll lose the weight. Someday I'll start a business. Someday I'll make this change." Your Someday is Today. If you want to make this change, right now is simply the best time to do it. There is really no way around it.
2017 is yours for the taking!