About Those New Year’s Resolutions – How Are You Doing?
The new year is a great time to make resolutions for things you want to accomplish. Perhaps you’ve made your list – something like this…
If so, how are you doing with your resolutions?
If you are struggling with maintaining your commitment to making a change, you are not alone! It is common for people to struggle with setting new habits – we might have good intentions but experience limited follow-through. By about the 3rd week of January, people’s commitment to resolutions can start to fade. As reported by a recent New York Times article, it takes just 32 days for the average person to finally break their resolution(s) — but 68% report giving up their resolutions even sooner than that.
Here are three things to keep in mind if you’ve made resolutions and are definitely resolved to keep them:
Be on the lookout for the Messy Middle. As noted by Dorie Clark, adjunct professor of business administration at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, there can be a lot of optimism when you first set a goal, but then reality sets in or there may be setbacks – this is the messy middle. If you are interested in 3 tips for getting beyond this, view the 15-minute course on LinkedIn Learning.
Set SMART Goals. The list shown above has great intentions, but each resolution is vague as an actual goal. The acronym for SMART goals is this – a goal is clearly articulated when it is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Although it takes a bit of effort to define goals this way, the pay-off is the greater likelihood you will achieve it.
Find someone who will champion your commitments. You are more likely to stick to your resolutions if someone you know will encourage you along the way. Just a bit of encouragement goes a long way, and if you are aware that someone will ask you about progress in your goals, you are more likely to push through that messy middle. As a bonus, a “high five!” from a friend will bring you both joy!
Advances in neuroscience continue to reveal how amazing the human brain truly is. We can change thoughts and behaviors in such a way that the brain’s structure changes as well. However, it takes time and an understanding of how habits are formed and reinforced to know how to change. In a future post I’ll share more about this. In the meantime, I hope you move forward in your journey towards positive change – happy 20th day of 2022!