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The New Year is a time to take stock and think about what we will do next. Most of us have big plans for next year, but only a few stick to them and succeed. A few little tricks will help us stay on the right track.
Nearly 45% of people around the world make big plans for the future on New Year’s Eve. Some make a promise to themselves to quit smoking, plan their time more efficiently, or finally start going to the gym. However, only 8% achieve success as a result, and 24% of us give up fresh beginnings in the first week of January.
We blame everything on our indiscipline and weakness of character, and this only makes us worse. Meanwhile, a few simple rules can help bring New Year’s resolutions to life.
Choose a task of the month
Choose one task to focus on. Yes, it’s not easy. Chances are you have a lot of other browser windows open right now, replying to a friend on Facebook, and searching for information in a search engine at the same time.
“Attempts to succeed in several endeavors at once, as a rule, end in failure,” says time management specialist and author of the bestselling “Success for Hire” Rory Vaden. – If you are trying to implement all the resolutions at once, then, most likely, failure awaits you on the way to implementing each of them. You experience strong discomfort and disappointment from this, and the desire to try again naturally fades away.
Try to set yourself step-by-step tasks, for example, the task of the month. Indeed, there are 395 days, 12 months and 525 minutes in a year. Such significant numbers, as well as global tasks, in themselves frighten us – we subconsciously think that we will never reach the end. That is why when executing the plan it would be better not to think about the final result.
You can’t make it your goal to swim across the Pacific if you can barely swim and are afraid of the deep.
Gradually, new habits will enter our lives, and we will be able to easily perform tasks that previously seemed difficult. According to recent studies, the majority (75%) of those who managed to partially achieve something in the first months of the year continue to stick to their plans.”
“When we tell other people about our plans, it makes us more responsible to ourselves,” says social psychologist Jen Kim. “Therefore, it is worth sharing your New Year resolutions with those whose opinion you care about.”
Get ready for the challenge
This tip comes from financial planning coach Ramit Sehti. “If you decide to start adopting a healthier lifestyle, for example, it’s almost impossible to avoid those days when you miss a trip to the gym, smoke a cigarette again, or resist junk food. Just don’t beat yourself up for it – let it be part of your plan.
What exactly will you do in such situations? Prepare a lighter meal the next day, skip dinner, or go for a run? It is worth considering the course of action in advance. ”
Be more precise
Researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center (USA) found that those who clearly articulated their plans (for example, “I want to lose six pounds” instead of the vague “I want to lose weight”) were more likely to succeed. At the same time, your tasks should be as realistic as possible.
Small victories make us feel like we’re doing a good job.
“You can’t make it your goal to swim across the Pacific if you can barely swim and are afraid of the deep,” recalls Rory Vaden. “It’s the same with New Year’s tasks: set yourself achievable goals for each week of the next month.”
Appreciate small victories
The idea echoes the first point – the task of the month – and is not to overload yourself with tasks at the very beginning – because this can lead to the collapse of your plans. Small victories make us feel like we’re doing a good job.
“If you want to get a new job, don’t try to do everything at the same time,” says Rory Vaden. – Focus, for example, on how to competently rewrite your resume. And ask a friend whose opinion you trust to evaluate it.
Plan ahead
Indeed, we don’t go on a trip without thinking about the route, and we don’t start cooking without having food on hand. To implement New Year’s resolutions, we need the same plan.
For example: next year we would like to save so much in order to buy something. What costs could we cut? What is a realistic amount that could be set aside? Are side jobs possible? What additional expenses cannot be avoided (holidays, birthday gifts)?
This point is very difficult for most of us, and only people who are very organized by nature, who know how and love to plan everything in advance, enjoy this. At the same time, if we do not have at least an approximate plan in front of us, how exactly we will implement our ideas, they risk forever remaining in the realm of fantasy.