The Key to Crushing Your New Year’s Resolutions

January has barely begun, but many people are already faltering on their New Year's resolutions. Most will completely give up by next Friday, affectionately known as “Quitters’ Day.” So what is the difference between someone who succeeds with their New Year's resolutions and one of the many “Quitters”?

First, it’s important to set a measurable goal for your resolution. If your New Year's resolution is to work out more, define clearly what “more” is to you and make sure it’s doable. Are you going to the gym twice a week, three times? When in your day will it fit in? What about three months from now when you’re less excited? If you don’t have it defined, then one missed gym day could feel like a failure and lead to quitting.

Next, get to the root of why you really want to achieve that goal. Ask yourself why, and then dig even deeper. 

Why do you want to work out more? 

Do you want to lose weight? 

What are the reasons you want to lose weight? 

To be healthier, to look better… 

What are the reasons you want to be healthier and look better?

Why do you want that? What will that get you?

When you get to the bottom of it, see if you can pinpoint how you want to feel when you achieve your resolution… then see if you can reverse engineer to create more of that feeling along the way.

If working out is all about feeling better about yourself, proud of yourself, beautiful, worthy… Work on creating those feelings throughout your life, while you’re exercising and also when you’re not. Speak kindly to yourself and challenge your thoughts with the truth when they become negative.

The real reason people fail to complete their New Year’s resolution is either because it is not connected to a deeper reason why, or it is the wrong way to achieve that deeper reason. 

If your real goal deep down is to feel better about yourself, there’s a part of you that knows becoming perfectly fit isn’t going to get you there. If your deep desire is to feel successful and worthy, becoming wealthy isn’t the whole picture. Now, I’m not against shooting for those tangible goals too, but not at the expense of the deeper work to be done—creating a more integrated, holistic approach to a successful year.

So, are you rethinking your New Year’s resolutions now? It’s not too late to get the year started right. For a limited time, I’m offering a FREE New Year Strategy Session for anyone who wants to map out a plan for their year that will actually work.