New Year’s Resolutions

- Goals For This Year

by EK Wills

We all know the spiel: reflect at this time of year and think about what we want to improve for next year.

Many of us have also experienced the initial surge of enthusiasm, followed by a burst of energy, only to watch as it dwindle like a candle after a few weeks at best.

  © NYE   

If you recently read my motivation blog, you may have started to work out what it is that drives you. This will give you direction towards setting goals for this year. Or maybe it’s time to revisit this as the year draws to a close.

The idea of goals is to set specific targets to help you get where you want to be.

You could have complex plans like starting a business, which require specific goals like researching the competition and establishing whether the market can sustain another competitor. Or, if you are a parent, you could have more intimate motivations like helping your baby to sleep at night that requires trying specific settling techniques and finding which one you are comfortable with.

Picture This

To help maintain your enthusiasm over time, create a clear image with as much detail as possible. This process has to be a conscious effort. Once you have your clear picture, you can turn your idea into a vision that you can move toward.

Online psychology courses talk about the visual cortex sending an image of what you want to your "idea centre," your left prefrontal cortex. Techniques such as visualization, meditation, self-reflection, and mindfulness are used which can lead to ‘aha’ moments.

Or you could be lucky enough to be struck with inspiration while daydreaming.

Clarify

Once you have your goal, write it down and break it down.

Create specific steps you can measure and tick them off as you completed them. This shows you are making progress and gives you a sense of achievement, even if it doesn't necessarily feel like it or the result isn’t immediately obvious.

'baby groot'

I like the tree analogy for this. Each step contributes to the final result but doesn’t appear ground-breaking.

1.     plant seed

2.     water – again and again

3.     seed splits

4.     seed breaks surface – that was 4 steps before we could see any result

5.     seed becomes a seedling

6.     seed becomes a sapling – and so on

We have our own ‘baby groot’ in the form of a Japanese maple that we grew from seed. After caring for it with no response, it is now forging ahead.

 3 Things A Day

Try to think of three things you can do each day to contribute to your goal. It doesn’t have to directly give you a result but can be part of working towards your goal.

If it is too much to think of three, then start with one. Every little bit helps and creates a sense of crossing items off the To Do list.

Habits are formed by repetition and it is generally thought this is achieved in 21 days – that’s just 3 weeks! While this is probably true for simply activities, lasting ones are thought to take more like 66 days – a little over 2 months. No wonder our resolutions are gone so soon.

But if you can keep motivated, you can overcome that hurdle and form that habit to help you achieve your goals.

Reflections

I know that I often start with good intentions and power ahead for a while. Then the doubt starts to set in. At this point, reflect on the things you have managed to achieve so far in order to help shift your attitude. And if that doesn’t work enough, it is worthwhile acknowledging the adage of ‘fake it till you make it’. If you do anything long enough it can become a habit.

Wishing you all the best with your goals and New Year’s resolutions!