It’s that time of the year again when we begin to relax and unwind and give ourselves permission to dream about the future. And while releasing memories of the fading year, we pick up our notebooks or open a fresh document on our screens and start to type …
Usha Maharaj CA(SA) Passionate about women empowerment and human potential
My new year’s resolutions list − lose weight, start exercising, eat healthier, save money, take time out for me, not work so hard − does this sound familiar? Millions of humans are programmed into starting the year with new year’s resolutions. Www.inc.com shares a study of 800 million activities conducted by fitness tracking app Strava which predicts that 19 January is the date that most new year’s resolutions will be abandoned. And, if you do make it past ‘quitter’s day’ as Strava calls it, the post goes on to say that approximately 80% of people who make new year’s resolutions will have dropped them by the second week of February.
New year’s resolutions have merit because they hold the potential to change our realities. But this is only possible if we convert these resolutions into results. Here are five steps to help you turn your resolutions into results.
- Turn many into few − Having a long list of resolutions can be overwhelming and when we are overwhelmed, it is easy to quit. Combine similar items and rank them to arrive at three to five broad categories. For example, lose weight, start exercising and eat healthier are related resolutions that could be combined.
- Turn wishes into goals − For each of the combined categories of resolutions, change your descriptive statement into a SMART goal using the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timebound) as a guide. For example, ‘save money’ could become ‘save 20% of my take-home pay every month’.
- Turn uncertainty into clarity − It is not always obvious how we will achieve a goal, and more complex goals require shifts in behaviours, habits and a multitude of actions. When actions are not clear, we create uncertainty and uncertainty creates quitters. Giving yourself a chance for success requires clarity and certainty. Brainstorm and list all actions you could take for each of your goals.
- Turn clarity into results − Now it’s time for consistent action. Transfer your actions to your calendar or planner for the year. Scheduling time to take action is a key component of success. And it goes without saying, once the action is scheduled, do it.
- Turn results into motivation − Monitor your goals on a regular basis through the year. Celebrate your successes and expand and adjust your plans of action. At the end of the year, reflect on how you have managed to turn your resolutions into results and commit to refining and growing this process into the future. Congratulations, you are in the elite 10% in the world that turn resolutions into results!
Resolutions to results
Your new year’s resolutions can transform how you look, feel and act and could lead to improvements in your health, wealth, balance and overall wellbeing. Your resolutions deserve a chance to become reality, don’t they? You deserve to enjoy the results of your resolutions, don’t you? It’s not difficult: it starts with a decision followed by action and before you know it, you will be celebrating your results. Follow the five simple steps to turn your resolutions into results, and new year’s resolutions quitter’s day will never have to feature in your calendar ever again.
