Resolution setting is tricky business. On the one hand, New Year’s resolutions should feel like goals. They should be challenging enough to empower us into making real change in our lives. We want to feel like we’re aspiring toward something that will have tangible, positive impact. On the other hand, New Year’s resolutions shouldn’t feel so unreachable or far-fetched that we get discouraged if we don’t fully achieve our intended results. Goals should feel like a reach – but an obtainable reach.
4 Tips on how to make this new year count for you!
Tip #1 – Write it out
It may sound strange, but the sheer act of putting your goals down in writing can increase your odds of achieving them. Daydreaming is fine – encouraged, even – but when it comes to setting goals, it truly helps to write them out. The act of communicating your goals in writing helps you narrow them down, think more concretely, and be more specific. Doing this will help you focus on your intentions in a more substantial way. Even better than simply writing your goals down is to put them in writing somewhere you’ll see them. Whether this means writing them on a whiteboard in your workspace or putting them on a slip of paper inside a desk drawer, it helps to be exposed to those goals so that you’re reminded of them.
Tip #2 – Be realistic
What is a realistic goal? It varies by person, but generally speaking, a reachable goal is one that you can create an action plan for, broken down into steps that you can reasonably accomplish within a given time frame. It’s important to be realistic in our goal setting, but don’t confuse having a realistic attitude with having a pessimistic outlook. Realistic thinking can actually be hugely affirming. Goals that seem unrealistic at face value may actually be realistically attainable! If you can devise an action plan toward a goal, and if you can fulfill all the steps in that action plan within your desired time-frame, then the goal – no matter how large – is one that you can accomplish.
Tip #3 – Hold yourself accountable
A simple way to hold yourself accountable to your goals is to share them with friends and family. Openly communicating your goals allows you to share not only the goals themselves, but the progress that you make toward achieving them. Another great way to hold yourself accountable is to break your goals down into smaller goals. It will feel less daunting and give you a measurable action plan toward achieving the larger goal you have in mind. Focus on achieving the smaller goals that add up to the bigger goal, and make sure you’re accountable for every one of those smaller goals.
Tip #4 – Think positively
There is a strong correlation between happiness and productivity. Happiness requires a positive outlook, and positive thinking has a variety of physical and psychological benefits, such as reducing overall levels of stress, lowering rates of depression, and even increasing lifespan! A positive outlook will contribute to your psychological wellbeing, and having a healthy psychological outlook will increase the odds that you will achieve your goals. Though it may be difficult, try to maintain a positive outlook throughout the year and reap the benefits of happiness, including greater productivity!
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