A hot topic of conversation this time of year is New Year’s Resolutions. Research done by Discover Healthy Habits revealed that there’s a near even 50/50 split of people who make resolutions versus those who don’t. The number one reason why people don’t make a resolution is that they’ve been unsuccessful in keeping resolutions in the past so why bother. Of those surveyed who made a resolution in 2019 only 7% were successful in keeping their resolution. 7%!!! That means that 93% gave up before the year’s end. With those odds I’d be hesitant to make a resolution.
But hold on. Don’t stop reading just yet. There is hope for New Year’s Resolutions.
The #1 reason why people said that they were unsuccessful in keeping their resolution is that their resolution was unrealistic. Looking at the statistics of resolution maintenance throughout the year, the percentage of people holding strong to their resolution dropped month by month. This demonstrates to me that the timeliness of a typical resolution is too long. It’s tough to wait twelve months to acknowledge success.
Wait a minute – do two of the words in that paragraph look familiar to some of you? Realistic. Timely. Don’t we find them in the goal acronym – SMART?
Let’s look at the most popular resolutions of 2020 and see how we can make them SMART Resolutions for 2021.
Resolution: I will eat better
in 2021.
SMART Resolution: I will eat one piece of fresh fruit five days a week in January.
Resolution: I will get in
shape in 2021.
SMART Resolution: I will take a walk four times a week in January.
Resolution: I will save money
in 2021.
SMART Resolution: I will set-up an automatic transfer of $50 from every paycheck to my Savings Account by January 31, 2021.
You might be asking yourself, “These are SMART goals, but what about the other eleven months of the year?” Well, who says that a resolution can only be made on January 1st and must end on December 31st? One of my personal mottos is:
Set Small Goals, Celebrate Often
By January 31 your January resolution has become a habit. HIGH FIVE!! So you keep doing that one and set another resolution on February 1st.
Resolution: I will eat better
in 2021.
SMART Resolution: I will eat one
piece of fresh fruit five days a week in January.
SMART Resolution: I will eat one vegetable five days a week in February.
Twelve months from now on December 31, 2021 you will have developed several new healthy habits resulting in you “eating better in 2021.”
I encourage you to not quickly brush off the idea of setting a New Year’s Resolution. Instead, pause and consider how setting a SMART Resolution for yourself this year can change your life.
Resources:
www.discoverhappyhabits.com
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