by Life Coach, Joe Bukartek
Get ready. It’s coming. The one time of year where we are encouraged to make some significant improvement to our lives in the form of a New Year’s Resolution.
Let’s first acknowledge the hopefully obvious: improving an area of your life does not require a start date of January 1. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let us tap into that very real groundswell of optimism and anticipation that arrives each year’s end.
I choose to believe that most people who set a New Year’s Resolution do so because they truly hope to be successful and aren’t simply coming up with fodder for water cooler banter. For those who value self-improvement and are ready for some form of transformation, I present the following three steps to creating and successfully achieving your resolution (whether or not you choose to wait until January 1st).
1). Pick something that matters to you and be clear about why it matters to you.
It can be easy to get in line when it comes to picking a resolution and choose to lose weight, take in less screen time, or start eating better (after the holidays, of course). But think about your individual purpose behind the goal. How are you hoping to feel by achieving the goal? What will you experience by accomplishing this goal? This purpose will be your motivation when your willpower is tested, say around January 3rd. Be sure the reason behind the goal is important to you. This is your Why.
2). Make your resolution specific.
In other words, will it be abundantly clear to you once you’ve achieved it, or are you aiming for more of a general feeling or sense? The less-defined the resolution, the easier it will be to rationalize weaker results. If you’re hesitant to make it more specific, run it through Step 1 again to figure out why you’re doing it in the first place.
When you choose to be specific, the imprecise goal of “living healthier” becomes “drink eight glasses of water every day” or “go for a walk around the neighborhood three times a week.” The open-ended, “make more progress in my career” becomes “participate in four networking activities each month” or “add five new clients each quarter.” Being specific will keep you keenly aware of your progress. This is your What.
3). Define your own accountability.
Are you going to be holding yourself accountable or have another person or group serve that purpose? Will the act of paying for a gym membership hold you accountable to working out three times a week? Will attending a business networking group hold you accountable
Since you determined in Step 1 that your resolution is worthwhile to you, you owe it to yourself to install a system of accountability to ensure your success. Accountability keeps your momentum going when enthusiasm fades. This is your How.
By using and revisiting these three steps as a foundation to your New Year’s Resolution, you will set yourself up for lasting success into the new year and beyond. It’s that simple. The very best to you as you intentionally select your Why, What, and How of your New Year’s Resolution!
