Council Post: Nine Strategies To Make Your New Year’s Resolutions Really Stick This Year

As the new year signifies new beginnings, most people come up with things they want to change as January rolls around. If these resolutions stick, they could lead to an entirely new way of life. Yet so many people let these goals falter, and within the first few weeks of the new year, these resolutions are relegated to the proverbial garbage heap.

However, some people really do manage to attain their goals. Some entrepreneurs have developed great success by sticking to their New Year’s resolutions, but what’s their secret? Here, nine members of Young Entrepreneur Council share some helpful tricks to ensure that you can achieve your own New Year’s resolutions this year.

1. Get Clarity On What The Change Entails

In my experience, a change in behavior has to originate in the subconscious (That’s the control room!). Merely telling yourself you want to do something is an idea, a starting point, but in order to change the behavior itself you must get clarity on what it means to you and why the current thing you’re doing is not working for you. Once I’ve gotten to the point where I’m unhappy with a behavior, I journal it, talk to my therapist about my psychology around the topic, then dig on YouTube for videos teaching the new method I want to employ. For example, I knew I ate way too fast and way too distracted. This type of eating is super unhealthy, so I spent a couple hours on YouTube immersed in mindful eating videos—the right content at the right time. Now I eat slowly and deliberately. It’s a total game changer. – Danielle Gronich, CLEARSTEM Skincare

2. Focus On What You Don’t Want

When New Year’s resolutions are set, they typically focus on something that we want, like a new skill, relationship or experience. But instead, focus on what you don’t want. Identifying and calling out what we don’t want in our personal or professional lives can ultimately reveal something more authentic. As we work toward our resolution, then we spend our days with more of an editing mindset as opposed to an additive one. This makes the accomplishment of the resolution more obtainable and less burdensome. – Matthew Manos, verynice

3. Resolve To Work On Your Beliefs And Attitudes

The trouble with setting New Year’s resolutions is that it focuses on changing behaviors without really considering the fundamental values and beliefs that actually drive long-term success. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t stick to a routine unless you have a really good reason for why you want to do it. Instead of making resolutions that have to do with actions, make resolutions to work on your beliefs, attitudes or personality. This is something that requires thought and time. So, it’s helpful to make resolutions to go to therapy, journal, read more and do other things that affect your value system. Actions will follow easily when your heart and mind work together. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

4. Revisit Your Goals Every Day

Goals need to be looked at every day, not just once a year. You don’t look at a map or your GPS right before a road trip and then not look at it again. I’ve found that setting three big “outcomes” for the year as well as taking some time to determine the “why” behind them helps me move toward my big goals and adjust the strategies as necessary. Every morning when I journal I write down my goals, the same goals every day. I find that this practice helps me remember what I’m working toward and also helps me prioritize my actions throughout the day so I can make the biggest impact on the things that matter most. – Michael Barnhill, Specialist ID

5. Plan Strategies Instead

The trick to making a resolution stick is not to have goals, but to have actual strategies. Having a strategy can involve anything, from building specific habits, to accountability check-ins, to having partners or mentors who can inspire you and keep you going. Strategies work where goals fail because they keep you on track. – Rachel Beider, PRESS Modern Massage

6. Set Smaller Controllable Goals

A major pitfall of making resolutions is that, in spite of all the advice, the natural tendency is to make “goals” that are out of our control. For example, you might have a goal to double your business this year or to lose 30lbs. Although those seem to be in your control, they’re really not. Instead, you should have a goal to eat according to a certain diet plan and exercise four times a week. That is under your control and will likely result in you losing the weight. Similarly, you could have a business goal to publish new content every week or update your website. These are things within your control that will hopefully bring the result that you want without the stress of trying to “achieve” something that is completely dependent on other people or circumstances. – Reuben Yonatan, SaasList

7. Write Them Down

Write them down and reference them regularly. Having a resolution solely in your head is a surefire way to not reach it. Also, put them on your work calendar to reference them once a week or so in order to remember that you have them and stay on track with timely progress. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

8. Focus On Creating Habits

Create a habit, not a goal. I recently learned this trick and was shocked at how quickly I reached the goals that I wasn’t even setting. Send your attention to the task itself and turn it into part of your daily routine. By focusing more on the execution rather than the endpoint, you reach it much quicker and often more efficiently. Consider what end goal you want, then ask yourself what you would need to do every day for it to come to life. Take this answer and do it every single day. You will reach your goals this year if you take this approach. – Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, P.A.

9. Get An Accountability Buddy

It’s been said before, but external accountability can be key to making a goal or resolution stick. Find an accountability buddy you highly respect and don’t want to disappoint. If you pick your best friend, you might be more comfortable falling behind on your goals because you know they’ll let you off the hook. Ask someone like a mentor or a coach to hold you accountable instead. – Diana Goodwin, MarketBox

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