I get a lot of questions about New Year’s Resolutions.
I’ve gotten pretty good at making and keeping my resolutions each new year — and while it’s still not super easy for me to stay on track, each and every year I have a bit more resolve to keep on course.
It doesn’t matter if you are reading this post in February, in April, or even in September— there is still plenty of time to get your new year goals and resolutions back on track.
If you’ve fallen off the wagon, here are some tips to climb back in it and buckle up; there’s a long road ahead until the end of the year.
If you haven’t made any new year resolutions or goals for this year or for the next one, or don’t like to because you don’t think that’s “your thing” — okay.
But you also can’t change for the better in any way unless you make the conscious decision to do so. And regardless of your personal journey or path, I believe we all could do a bit better each year.
This is it.
You’re not going to get today back again, and it’s okay to want tomorrow to be slightly better.
How to make New Year Resolutions that You’ll Keep:
1) Write it down. This is such a simple step, yet the majority of people don’t do it.
Yes, there are plenty of people who have stuck to their resolve to lose weight or get out of debt by not writing down their goals, but if you DO write it down you have a greater chance of success.
And who are we to fool around with statistics? If it feels hokey, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to share what you’ve written down to anybody — just keep it in a notebook or folded up in your purse.
2) Tell Someone. I know.
In suggestion number 1 I said you don’t have to share your written resolution or goal list with anyone and now I’m telling you to tell someone else your personal wishes and dreams.
I promise I’m not losing my mind— you still don’t have to share your written out list, but you DO have to share what you’re working on.
Accountability to someone else is a much stronger motivational drive than an intrinsic one. This means that you are more likely to disappoint yourself than you are someone else.
That’s just how human nature is. We are also much more forgiving to others than we are to ourselves —- so if you veer off track, having a supportive someone in your corner is just who you’ll need to confide in and who can help you retain confidence.
This is what I did with the slow cooker site, and what Jen did with her cocktail site.
We told the Internet — it’s a pretty big group to be held accountable to!
3) Review your resolutions every single day. However you do this is up to you.
You can pull out your list of goals, or rewrite them every morning. Some people have excellent results by writing their resolutions out as if they have already happened. For instance, if your goal is to lose those final last ten pounds, you might start your day by thinking about how thankful you are that you can fit into the dress hanging in the closet.
You can go a step further and visualize yourself wearing it and hear in your head all the complements you’ll get from your friends.
I have a vision board. I make a new one every year, and I keep it in the bathroom.
It’s personal, and I have sayings and quotes, and magazine cutouts on it. I only share it with Adam, and even he kind of rolls his eyes a bit at how particular some of my visions (picture cutouts) are.
But that’s okay. Because my vision board makes me smile and keeps me focused on what it is I’m working towards — I look at it quite a few times a day, and somedays it spurs me on to take action on a certain writing assignment or to go do a few pushups.
Other days I just zone out. I’ve decided to believe that even on my zone out days my subconscious is working on something. 
4) Pretend you’ve already succeeded. Or fake it till you make it.
This might seem phony at first, but you’ll get used to it in practice. If your New year’s Resolution was to work out every morning, act like a person who works out every morning.
What time does that person wake up? What does she wear? Does she sleep in her workout clothes and works out before getting dressed for the day?
What does she eat? Do you need different food in the house?
If your resolution was to write every day on your All American Novel, start acting like a novelist.
What does a novelist do? Does she get up before everyone else in the house and write for an hour? Does she have a set of index cards with character names and traits?
Does she spend 3 hours a day surfing facebook or pinterest, or does she buckle down and work?
5) Reward yourself. This doesn’t need to be elaborate, nor does it need to be expensive, but you have to find a way to celebrate the tiny steps and milestones along the way.
Day to Day life is hard enough as it is — trying to change or adapt is even harder, even if you know it’s for the better.
Human nature is to find the easiest and least resistant path. It’s easier to lay around on the couch than it is to lace up your shoes and go for a walk.
So reward yourself. Walk to the grocery store and after making a few laps get yourself a pack of sugarless gum.
If you’ve gotten through the entire day without yelling at the kids, take a bath. Paint your toes. Do something just for you that’s a reward. And there is no harm in using the reward as motivation to keep to your goals — “if I don’t use my credit card but instead pay it off, I can use the extra savings in our vacation fund.”
I’m sure you see what I mean.
6) Seek out Been-There/Done-That advice. This is what people mean when they say “find a mentor.”
I don’t know what your goals are — but I do have two groups that I maintain (outside of crockpotting!) that are for mentoring women. I have my Life and Time Management group for moms, and I have my Blogging As a Business mastermind group.
You can learn more about these groups, here:
Why New Year’s Advice from MEN or from Online Gurus Doesn’t Work
So here’s the thing. I’m a 40 year old mom of three girls. They are 15, 12, and 6 right now. I have ALWAYS been a goal-oriented person. I love lists, I love plans-of-attack and I regularly have client phonecalls and skype chats with other Moms who are also smashing their goals out of the park.
But goals written For Men and By Men don’t work for me, and I don’t think they will work for you.
So, for all you moms out there who are Mom First — I hear you. I know. It’s tough to put yourself first and your ambition first.
So don’t do it for you. Do it for these marvelous beings you have created and brought into this world. Because you are their role model. They look up to you and are watching you.
You deserve to live the best version of your life. You deserve to have everything you’ve ever wanted and ever dreamed of.
You want that for your kids, I know you do. It’s okay to want it for yourself, too.
~~~
You don’t have to be in the first week of January to decide to be a New You.
Or a Newer Version of You.
You can do this. I know you can.
and it’s not too late.
It’s never too late to accomplish anything you put your mind to.
xoxoox
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