Ten Ways to Make New Years Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep!

Are you one of the millions of people who make big New Year's Resolutions each year, only to watch those resolutions fall by the wayside mere days or weeks later? Would you like to be able to set New Year's Resolutions that you can actually keep? It might be easier than you think!

Choose your resolutions carefully. These should be things that you really want and are ready to work on, not just things that you think you should work on.

Be realistic. Set yourself up for success. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Make it manageable. This year's goal can be part of a longer-term goal that you plan to achieve gradually. It doesn't all have to be done now.

Focus on actions, not results. Identify what you can do to move towards your goal. We can only change our own behaviour, not necessarily the results of that behaviour. Some things are out of our hands - for example, the reactions and behaviours of other people.

Write them down. This changes an idea into a decision into a commitment.

Be very specific. If you want to quit or start something, set firm dates for yourself regarding what precisely you are committed to do (or not do) on that date.

Know and write down WHY you want to change it. You can reflect on this if you slip up and/or if your motivation is waning.

Do not try to change too many things at once. Each habit that you want to change has taken a long time to develop and it will take some focused time and attention to alter your usual routine. Be patient.

Let other people know. Change is hard, and it is important to enlist a support network to encourage you along the way. This becomes a higher level of commitment.

Don't give up just because you get off track. Just revise your dates/goals, if necessary and start afresh. Many people give up my mid-January because they feel like they have already failed and will just be setting themselves up for more failure if they try to stick to the original plan. Be flexible, be nice to yourself, and remember that virtually everyone slips up. It is all part of the process of positive change.

Get a coach. A coach is like a personal trainer for your goals - they help you strategize the plan that will be most likely to succeed, will keep you motivated (which is the main reason people give up on their goals), and will keep your goals in focus even when you are distracted by the hustle and bustle of your busy life. People who use the services of a coach (or personal trainer) see faster, better results.

Dr. Gayla Swihart DeHart, from Vancouver, Canada, is a Professional Coach with a Ph.D. in Psychology. She helps busy professionals manage stress, improve goal setting and follow-through, and increase life and work satisfaction. More information on Dr. Swihart DeHart and her services can be found at http://www.AchieveExcellence.ca

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Coaching Information:

Related Articles

Get Coached!
Coaching is a hot trend at a growing number of companies, from IBM and Dow Chemical to entrepreneurial start ups. According to a recent survey by The Hay Group, an international human resources consultancy, between 25 percent and 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies use executive coaches.
The Non-Conscious Mind at Work. Harness it for Your Success
Thoughts are real things. As soon as you realize how to control your thoughts you are on your way to making vast changes in your daily success.
Tips For Singles On Celebrating The New Year
It's four weeks away and you don't have any plans. Many of your friends will be away or out with their significant others.
Coaching: The Art of Putting Yourself In Somone Elses Shoes
COACHING STEPS: The following are five (5) steps a coach can take to change behavior and performance. The goal of this process is to create the context for the person being coached towards one in which excellence becomes the norm.
Are You Addicted To Your Activities?
Activities - such as sports, creative projects, reading, work, TV, meditation - can be a wonderful way to relax, express yourself, or connect to yourself. Or they can be an addiction.
Receiving Thanks and Praise - The View from the Other Side
We demand more from those who provide to us and because we are frequently in roles which deliver goods and services ourselves, we are on the receiving end too - of complaints, frustrations and generally poor behaviour.Why is it that when we are on the receiving end, we miss the fact that we ourselves, when we hang up our service-provider-hat at the end of our shift, often end up as 'customers behaving badly' too?Why do we take our own frustrations out on others, the way it has been taken out on us? Why do we sometimes become the Hyde from our normal Jekyll?So, when someone goes the 'extra mile' to say 'Thank you', or appreciate the actions you have taken? What do you take from that and how do you react? You feel good, I guess.
What Do You Have To Give?
"Happiness is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It's a mental attitude.
Happiness and Work: Your Life Depends On It.
Early one morning, Robert awoke, made his wife of 41 years some banana bread, took out the garbage and called to cancel a doctors appointment scheduled for the next day. He wrote a note to remind his wife to pick up the dry cleaning.
How to be Your Authentic Self
Most of us play many different roles in the course of any given day. We could be Mom, Boss, Employee, Student or Friend, to name just a few.
Your Responsibility
The other day I decided to skip cooking dinner and ordered fast food, and I ended up finding an insect on it. My husband and I were shocked, grossed out, disappointed, and I do not know what else.
Attitude is Contagious - Would Anybody Want Yours?
Are you using the Life Potential you have been given? Or are you just existing?We have all inherited standards, traits, habits, perceptions, and expectations based on what our parents, teachers, and peers taught us. We have allowed these to grow as a result of whatever we then learned as adults, and they continue to grow with whatever we feed our minds.
The Value of Coaching to Support Your Business and Your Life
In our daily lives as well as in our businesses, we typically operate from the perspective of doing the best we know how to do in dealing with life's challenges and opportunities. If we knew what it would take to be more effective in our relationships, more productive in our activities or more successful in reaching our goals, we would surely alter our behavior to correspond with these insights.
Mindfulness and Multiple Intelligences: 8 Ways to Pay Attention
How are you smart?Let me count the ways.Harvard professor Howard Gardner was the first to describe the concept of Multiple Intelligences.
Executive Coaching and the American President
Perhaps no one better than a former U.S.
7 Effective Ways To Boost Your Self Esteem
1. Get a life purpose statement.
5 Keys to Powerful Communication
As a coach that specializes in marriage, couples and family coaching, it is critical to develop strong and clear keys for communication. How many times have you been faced with a difficult feeling or occurrence that you are reluctant to discuss with your partner? You probably thought, "If I just don't say anything, I can get past it"?The problem is most of us can't get past it.
Think Twice Before Youre Nice
A few months back I had a disturbing dream. In my dream a woman with stringy blonde hair rang my bell.
Coaching Employees - The Chronic Excuser
Most of us find coaching employees to be an effective, even enjoyable, approach to leadership and management. Coaching provides a way to help team members grow and develop, while achieving business objectives.
What To Do? Lifes Big Question
We've all experienced the same thing at important crossroads in our life when big changes were underway. Often, we find ourselves feeling panic and frozen in time, possibly with indecision, waiting and wondering: Which way to go?; How will things turn out? Sometimes, you just don't know what to do.
Do You Need a Performance Coach?
In today's fast paced world, we are often confronted with the issue, "I want to get in shape, but I just don't have the time!" We all have faced it at one time or another. So, when we finally decide to get in shape we go to the gym, and then another decision hits us.