Making New Habits Stick

Have you made any New Year resolutions this year? Or did you last year? And more importantly did you manage to keep them up?

The beginning of a new year is like a spring clean opportunity for many people. It’s a time to dust yourself down, clean up your life and set some new goals and habits for the year ahead. A recent survey done by Forbes Health shows that the most popular resolutions are:

• Improved fitness (48%)

• Improved finances (38%)

• Improved mental health (36%)

• Lose weight (34%)

• Improved diet (32%)

Making resolutions is easy, it’s sticking to them that is tricky!

A study from Forbes Health the year before showed that by the end of 2 months almost a third of people have quit their resolution and by month 6 only 21% of people are still sticking to theirs.

If you want to up your chances of sticking to your 2024 goals this year, here a few things that can help you.

GOAL SETTING versus HOPE SETTING

Goals often fail before they start because they don’t have a proper plan behind them. They are really just a hope that someone has in their life.

The question to ask yourself in setting a goal is ‘Is my goal a S.M.A.R.T. one?'

S.M.A.R.T. goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Trackable. This allows you to clarify your ideas, focus your efforts, use your time and resources productively, and increase your chances of achieving what you want in life.

Specific: Saying ‘I’m going to lose weight’ is not going to get you very far in pushing down the numbers on those scales. But saying ‘I’m going to aim to lose weight by not snacking between meals and not eating after 7pm are very specific practices and habits for you to work on.

Measurable: A goal of ‘I’d like to get outside more’ is not measurable. Changing it to ‘I am going to walk for 30 minutes outside three times a week’ is measurable. Thinking ‘I want to have a bit more money in the bank’ is not going to help you improve your financial situation. Setting a goal of putting a small percentage of your weekly income into a savings account will soon make your bank balance grow.

Attainable: Avoid aiming too high or too low. Think of past experiences you have tried that maybe didn’t work out. Reflect on why and make your goal realistic. Once you achieve it, you can build on your success and set a higher goal if you like.

Realistic: Losing 5 lbs per week might sound good. But it's an unrealistic goal to keep up even for the short term. Setting the bar so high is likely to leave you discouraged and more likely to give up on your health goal as you feel deflated as the weeks go on. Losing 1 to 2 lbs per week is a realistic and sustainable goal for most people, so better to have this as a stated goal upfront that lets you celebrate each week.

Trackable: Health goals work well when they have a timeline of progress and milestones. Setting specific and measurable goals means you can track your progress and improvement over time. Keep a journal or use an App so you can see what you have achieved so far.

HOW to STICK to YOUR GOALS

1.     Put actions in a default diary

Default diaries with blocks of time pre-assigned to particular tasks can really help you achieve your goal. For example, if your goal is to get fitter, then put the times you are going to be exercising and the type of exercise you are going to be doing in your diary every week. Treat these sessions like a work meeting. Make them non-negotiable, except in emergencies.

2.     Get Support

Having a support system can really help you. Tell your partner, friends or family what your goal is and how you are aiming to achieve it. Ask for their support. You can also get a ‘goal buddy’. Find a like-minded friend or family member who wants to achieve similar objectives. This can make the journey more fun as well. If you can’t find someone look at joining an online support group. Lots of these are free.

3.     Adjust Resolutions as Needed

It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing situation when it comes to goals. Allow yourself the freedom to adjust a goal as situations change in your life or if you find you set the bar too high to start with.

4.     Go for Consistency

If you are trying to get fitter it is more important that you undertake regular exercise sessions on a weekly basis, than you hit the gym for a big session every some often. The same is true when it comes to losing weight. There is no point in starving yourself all week to overindulge at the weekend and start the following Monday at the same weight as the week before!

5.     Celebrate the Small wins

Bringing new habits into your life is a journey. Don’t wait until you are at the end of the journey to celebrate milestones along the way. Set up measurable milestones along the way and celebrate when you reach each one.

Good luck creating your new habits for life 🍀

You can do it

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