Cast your mind back six weeks.
January was rolling around fast and we were all making decisions on how 2013 was going to be the best year ever for us. You had started to ask yourself how you could make improvements to your life during the year ahead and how you were going to be able to achieve them.
So? How’s it been?
Making the resolutions is the easy part, sticking to them for the next 365 days is where it gets tricky. Most of us have seen our New Year resolutions fail before the calendar even turned to February. In fact, research shows it takes just nine days for us to give up on our dreams for the year. That’s why today we’re giving ourselves the “second chance”.
It’s the Chinese New Year today so why not use the opportunity of a new beginning to re-think our goals and how realistic they were and still are?
1. Did you give yourself a set goal or an abstract mission?
Research shows it is much easier to give yourself a set goal like “Be able to run 5k by June” than just “Get fit”. Your mind is set on the challenge and you can test yourself when the time comes.
2. Do you have support from your family and friends?
A year-long study by the University of Hertfordshire in the UK found the key to keeping your resolutions depends on the methods put in place to help you reach them. The research, which was led by Professor Richard Wiseman, also found that different methods work best depending on whether you’re a man or a woman. He discovered that women, and not so much men,” benefit from the social support provided by friends and family”.
3. Can you remember when you made the resolution?
Making New Year resolutions at the last minute can also cause you to fail. This is because such spur of the moment decisions can often be less genuinely motivated. “If you do it at the last minute, it probably doesn’t mean that much to you and you won’t give it your all,” Wiseman says.
4. Finally, how many resolutions did you make?
A study by the Journal Of Consumer Research found that writing out a detailed plan worked well for participants when they focused on a single goal. When they focused on multiple, competing goals, the detailed plan was less effective.
It’s only about a few weeks into the New Year, don’t give up on your goals now!
