How Will You Stick to Your New Year’s Resolutions for 2022?

We have now entered 2022. Last year is behind us, and I think many of us are excited to see what this new year can bring us. I hope you all had a great start to this year. May 2022 be a great one, with lots of opportunities! Maybe you, like many others, came into this year with fresh goals and exciting new year’s resolutions? The act of making resolutions of improvement for the year ahead is nothing new, as seen by this quote below from Mark Twain in 1863.

”Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever. ” – Mark Twain, Letter to Territorial Enterprise, 1 Jan 1863.

 

Research suggests that the act of making resolutions for the new year has been around for about 4000 years. The ancient Babylonians are said to be one of the first people to make new year’s resolutions, by making promises to their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects. Similar traditions can be found in ancient Rome, where Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct.

 

Back to present time – Are you one of those people who have made some really promising new year’s resolutions for 2022? Such as to improve yourself, to implement or change a behaviour or a habit, or to learn something new. According to a survey conducted in Australia last year, a staggering 83 % of respondents had set up new year’s resolutions for themselves in 2021. So, if you’re one of those people, then you’re certainly not alone.

However, there is about a 50 % chance that even some of your resolutions become reality and only a 35 % chance that you stick to all of them, according to this article. It might seem easy to come up with good new year’s resolutions – but how to stick to them is actually the hardest part. I thought we would go through a few things to consider when making your goals, to make sure you are set up for success!

 

–          Are you making “avoidance goals” or “approach goals”? An avoidance goal is when you are trying to avoid something as the name suggests, for example cigarettes, sweets or alcohol. An approach goals is, for example, when you want to implement a new habit or change in your life. A recent study  from Sweden shows that you are 25 % more likely to succeed in meeting “approach goals” than meeting “avoidance goals”.

 

–          Make SMART goals that are doable! Set up your resolutions for the right reasons, and not based on what someone else is telling you. Be specific when making your goals and have a clear plan on how to achieve them.

 

–          Remember, if you miss your goal it doesn’t mean failure. Feel free to make a second, third or 20th attempt. You can start making changes anytime during the year. And most importantly, don’t be too hard on yourself.

 

For further guidance and support on how YOU can set up SMART, doable goals that will last, Pushpa and Team are here to help! Contact us today to receive an initial FREE consultation..