It’s that time of year again. Everyone is focused on making New Year’s resolutions and creating plans for the future. Many people become salty about the “new year, new me” bandwagon that everyone jumps on during this season. But I think, as long as you are genuinely willing to follow through, it’s a great way to make a positive change.

Moreover, I think New Year’s resolutions are a great excuse to turn a new leaf and head in a better direction. Some of us, however, seem to fall flat. In fact, 92% of resolutions fail, and it’s because they’re missing a few key elements, which I’m covering in this article.

The Truth About Setting Effective New Year’s Resolutions

Making New Year’s resolutions tends to get a lot of flack today, and it’s easy to see why.

People get all amped up about a fresh year. They see it as a new beginning and begin making bold claims of big changes, only to fall off a couple of months, or worse, a couple of weeks later.

But the truth about making New Year’s resolutions is that you shouldn’t wait until the new year to make them.

Moving toward a new ambition or making a positive change in your life should not be tied to some arbitrary date. Instead, it should be something you do whenever you feel the change is necessary. Oftentimes, making New Year’s resolutions is just an excuse and delay in making the changes you know you need to make.

However, with that said, if you’re among the 8% of people who actually sticks to their resolutions, then this article is for you.

Strategies for Making Your Resolution Stick

You need a system to reach your goals.

It’s hard to stumble your way to success. Most people give up prematurely because they don’t have a simple strategy that offers them proven step by steps to achieve their aims. That ends here.

Here are 7 simple holiday goal-setting strategies that can help.

1. Take Sensible Steps

If you’re anything like me, you have big ambitions.

Fantastic. That’s the way it should be. However, there is an unspoken threat to your audacious goals that rarely gets addressed. It’s the daunting feeling that comes from having Herculean dreams, as big goals tend to come with a lot of pressure.

But more than that, the bigger the goal, the longer it will take to achieve.

In fact, some of your goals will be so far into the future that they can often feel impossible or even unrealistic. This can be a huge barrier to success. The solution? Break your goals down into small, actionable steps.

I call this strategy chunking.

If you feel overwhelmed by the idea of taking action on some of your bigger goals, break them down into more manageable steps. It will relieve the pressure and make you more likely to do what you need to do.

2. Make regular reviews

Not enough people respect the power of repetition.

Rarely will you ever remember something the first time you hear or read it—we need reminding almost constantly. This includes when it comes to making New Year’s resolutions. If you get excited about the idea of changing in the new year only to fall back into old routines a couple of weeks later, that’s a problem.

The solution is to have a regular goal review.

Regularly reviewing your goals keeps you accountable, keeps your objectives fresh in your mind, and ensures you’re continually moving in that direction. This is a game-changer—seriously. My biggest successes have come from beating my goals into my head through unrelenting reviews.

3. Practice Resilience

Here’s the deal…

I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to fail; everyone does. I fail all the time. As much as we like to bury our heads in the sand and tell ourselves, “There’s no such thing as failure,” the truth is that we will all fall off the grind at some point.

One of my favorite personal development speakers, the late and great Jim Rohn, said it best: Everything by longevity tends to get off course.

So, the trick here is not to view failure as some awful thing that makes you “worthless” or “incapable.” Instead, the better (and proper) way to view it is to recognize it as an opportunity to practice resilience. Every time you fall off, use that foul to strengthen your resolve and get back at it again.

It really is that simple—I swear.

4. Celebrate small wins

Every success is worthy of acknowledgment, regardless of how small.

Take a moment to recognize yourself for the effort you’re putting in. Making New Year’s resolutions and actually following through on them is a difficult task. As a result, you have to acknowledge yourself when you’ve shown up for your goals.

And you do this by celebrating your small wins by giving yourself something pleasurable.

Now, I’m not saying you should treat yourself to a 5-star luxury vacation whenever you cross off a task on your to-do list. However, doing something small and enjoyable to acknowledge your efforts can go a long way in keeping you motivated.

Here’s an example…

I’m a sucker for a Tim Horton’s french vanilla. So, when I’ve been showing up for my goals and putting in the work, I go for a sugar-filled french vanilla at least once a week to acknowledge my efforts.

5. Find accountability

Having a sense of accountability is one of the best ways to stay committed.

You may find it challenging to stay the course when the only person you’re answering to is yourself. I know I’m like that in many ways. However, when you loop someone else into your ambition, all of a sudden, there’s pressure to show up, follow through, and be consistent.

The reason is simple: no one wants to look like a flake.

In fact, psychological studies have proven that human beings have a desire to be consistent with previous choices they’ve made. That’s why asking someone to hold you accountable can be such a powerful force in getting you to hold the line.

So try getting an accountability partner when making your New Year’s resolutions.

It will light a fire under you. As a result, you’ll be much more likely to do what you said you would. Find someone you trust and respect to fill this role and who you know is not going to let you bullshit yourself if you have a moment of weakness and fall flat.

6. Stop trying to be perfect

Look, you don’t have to get everything right all the time.

Especially during the holidays, perfectionism will stunt your ability to stay consistent. This is part of the reason why I always tell people to start small. It alleviates the pressure of having to be perfect all the time, which is impossible.

You don’t have to be perfect with your healthy habits and long-term goals.

You just have to be good enough at showing up consistently. The best part is that adopting this mindset makes the requests you ask of yourself more realistic.

Side note: imperfection is not an excuse for lack of effort. It’s easy to take this mindset and warp it into a reason not to try your best. That’s not what this is about. Instead, it’s an asterisk to cut yourself some slack.

7.  Enjoy the season

Some people preach constant hustle and unrelenting grind. I’m not one of them.

I love leisure and spending time with family and friends. In fact, a major reason why I work so hard is so I can create a great life to spend more time with those I love and care about. The holidays are the perfect time to relax. So, while making New Year’s resolutions is great, don’t forget to enjoy yourself during the holidays.

Put aside your action plan, time management hacks, and activity tracker, and for God sakes, enjoy yourself a little.

This is not to say you should give up your good patterns of behavior. It’s just a reminder to enjoy where you are and what you have instead of always hunting down the next goal pursuit.

Balance is the key to success and happiness in my opinion. You don’t want to sway too far in either direction.

Conclusion

The new year is a time to reflect. Reflect on how you did this year, and also reflect on how you want the next year to unfold. Take advantage of this time by setting your goals, creating your plans, and, of course, enjoying the holidays.

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