In 2022, Good New Year’s Resolutions Are the Ones You’re Likely to Keep

Who should listen: Anyone who is looking for advice about setting goals for the new year that will genuinely improve their lives.

Key idea: Make sure the goals you set are ones you want to achieve.

Action item: Set one New Year’s goal in each of the 4 recommended categories: self-development, health, relationships, and business.

Yes, it’s that time of year again.

Time to reflect on the past and set goals for the future.

Time to set yourself up for failure.

Wait. What??

Let’s be honest. Of those who made a resolution in 2020, only 35% reportedly kept them all. Granted, the same study reported that 49% kept “some” of their resolutions, but what does that mean? It means they failed to keep the others. And to round out the responses, 16% failed to keep any of their resolutions.

As disheartening as those numbers are, we’ve seen studies reporting that as much as 80% of those who make resolutions don’t keep them.

And, of course, some don’t make resolutions at all.

C’mon, people! We can do better than this!

Why we fail to keep typical New Year’s resolutions

There are a plethora of reasons why we don’t keep our New Year’s resolutions, but there are a few that appear to be the most common. When we don’t stick to our resolutions or fail to meet our goals, it’s often because:

• We set them unrealistically high.
• We fail to make them specific.
• We don’t write them down.
• We don’t track them.
• We don’t get support.
• We expect too much too soon.
• We don’t enjoy the process.

But here’s the irony.

According to neuroscientists, there’s a part of the brain that believes desired outcomes are an essential component of who we believe we already are. That weirdness sets up the conditions that drive us to fulfill the brain’s self-image! In a way, if we can picture what we want to achieve, then we can achieve it.

We just need to stop sabotaging our progress.

Tips for keeping your 2022 New Year’s resolutions

We’ve got 4 categories of New Year’s resolutions for 2022:

• self-development
• health and well-being
• relationships
• business

Set a single goal in each category, meet it with the tips we provide here, and you’ll improve your mind, body, relationships, and business!

1. Make all your goals SMART goals

If you don’t know where you are headed, then “any path is as good as any other” is fine advice for someone who enjoys wandering. However, it’s not so good for someone who wants to achieve a goal.

In case you aren’t familiar with SMART goals, they are goals that have been written so that they are:

• Specific: By definition, SMART goals are not vague. Read more books is a vague self-improvement goal. Read 4 books a month is specific.
• Measurable: SMART goals allow you to track your progress. If your goal is to read 4 books a month, how many pages per day do you need to read to satisfy that goal?
• Achievable: Maybe your schedule doesn’t permit you to read 4 books a month. In that case, set your goal so that it is more realistic. Don’t set yourself up for failure.
• Relevant: You want your goals to be important to you, and they should align with one another.
• Time-bound: SMART goals have due dates. When do you want to achieve your goal?

2. Get support

There’s a reason why the buddy system works. When trying to achieve a goal, your buddy can help with encouragement and keep you accountable.

One of the more positive attributes of social media is that it allows us to connect with people who share our interests. When you post your goals and keep friends up to date with your progress, you can also ask for feedback and encouragement. You can also join groups that are invested in some of the same goals you are.

3. Make sure each goal is something you want

We sometimes choose goals that other people want for us. Maybe your spouse wants you to lose a few pounds or go to the gym more often. At other times, we may choose a goal over which we don’t have control. We may want a promotion at work, but, ultimately, that decision rests with someone else.

Don’t select a goal because it’s something you think you should do. Select a goal because it’s something you want to do. When we want to do something, we improve our chances of doing it and enjoying the process. And it stands to reason that if we want and enjoy something, we’re less likely to give up on it.

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