4 Steps to Achieve Your New Year's Resolutions

Goal setting is easy but achieving the goals we set isn't, whether they are changing a behavior or accomplishing something. It can be frustrating! Where do you start? You may ask yourself, "why is it so hard for me to just exercise or start that project?" Well, I have an answer! There are several reasons why you aren't achieving your New Year's Resolutions:

1. You are setting too many goals and too high of goals for the time being

2. There is no plan to achieve them

3. Lack of commitment or procrastination

4. It's only thought of as a dream

Sure, you might start working on them but after three weeks they begin to overwhelm you to the point of giving up on them. And you are not alone. We are all guilty of this. I have done this several times! However, I have recently learned the tricks to overcome this and I will happily share my 4 steps with you.

1. Start Small

It's easy to get caught up in wanting to accomplish several different things in one year however, it can overwhelm us to the point of not accomplishing any of our goals. For instance, at the beginning of 2020 my goals consisted of becoming fluent in Spanish, reading my scriptures cover to cover, exercising every day, learning to sew, eating healthy, finishing my book and to start writing children's books. None of these were accomplished because I was focusing on too many things at once and got overwhelmed. Despite this, in the middle of the year I learned to overcome this and accomplished my goal of starting my blog.

Thus, start with one goal that you would like to accomplish whether it be exercising, starting a business, finishing a project etc. As soon you are working on that goal consistently and get to the place where you feel comfortable enough, only then should you can add another goal.

And don't make that goal unrealistic to accomplish in one year such as becoming a big time YouTuber (making 6 figures) or traveling the world. You will set yourself up for failure! Instead, make your goal to start a YouTube channel to which you upload content every week Or to save enough money to travel to Spain. After you have found the goal you would like to focus on for this year, write it down in a place where you will see it every day. Let it be a motivating factor to get you to do what you need to do.

2. Make a Plan

After you have written down your goal, get a notebook and write out a plan to achieve it. Make this plan not only realistic but stupidly easy so that you will be encouraged to do more work than you had planned.

For instance, if you had a goal to start writing a book you would want to start your plan with one paragraph a day. I say this because when you look at your plan for the day and say, "I must write 10 pages a day," it will be very difficult to get yourself to do it. However, when you make a plan to write one paragraph a day, you trick yourself to not only stick to your plan but to also do more work. Therefore, instead of giving up after 3 weeks, you hold to the plan consistently which will eventually bring you to your goal.

Here is an example of my plan for my book and blog

3. Remove Distractions

It is incredibly easy to get distracted with our cell phones and televisions. It seems like sometimes I have the attention span of a eight-year-old child. Habits are hard to break for this reason. Thus, we need to replace old habits with new ones. If you start your day watching YouTube while getting ready, try to listening to a podcast instead. If you have a tendency to go on social media often, try placing it in a special box I like to call the "No No Box," This will remind you to pay attention to your goals. Or simply place your phone in a basket in a different room.

Prepare your space for whatever goals you are trying to meet. For instance, if you were going to do weight training, make sure there are no chairs that may look too comfortable and have your weights ready to go. Also, it would be wise to have a fan and a water bottle on hand. As well as preparing a physical space for this goal, you would want to prepare a space in time to do this. For example, It could be after work and before dinner. You could even have a set time to do this such as 7pm-8pm. Personally, I like to have a set reminder on my phone. Make it apart of your daily routine! And if you are a mother, it should be when your kids are asleep or whenever your significant other can take the kids.

In the instance of eating healthy, breaking habits is also relevant, try replacing soda with a juice that has no added sugar. You would also want to clean out your pantry and fridge for items that you think are a bit too addictive such as soda. Preparing this way will make your goals easier to achieve!

4. Execute the Plan!

Now that you have prepared a plan and a space, you can start executing your plan. This is the most important part! In the words of Shia LaBeouf, "Just do it!"Doing a little bit every day is more important than doing a ton of work a few days here and there. Remember the story of The Tortoise and the Hare? Achieving your goals is just like that! It is not always the fastest that wins. Often, it is the slow and consistent that win. What you put into something consistently is what you will get out. Yes, you will start slower than other people but as you build up your motivation and consistency, you will get faster.

There is a saying from the US Navy Seals that my friend would frequently repeat: "Slow is smooth and smooth is fast." Therefore, start small, take it slow, and be consistent. And if you have a hard time executing the plan, have a friend hold you accountable. It can be a work out buddy or simply a friend checking in on your work. But remember, they can only take you so far. Ultimately, you need to be the one that pushes yourself to be your best.

Conclusion:

Achieving your goals can be difficult, which is why a realistic approach needs to be taken. We are only human! We all have work, school, housework, schoolwork, kids, significant others, and other priorities. And on top of that we are living in the age of technological advancement and it is distracting! There is nothing more comforting than coming home after a long day of work and relaxing on the couch watching Disney + with a Pepsi in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other. This is why we need a plan to get ourselves motivated and orientated. And as we start our journey to reach our goals, remember to celebrate each daily win. Did you do your weight training for 30 minutes today? Awesome! Did you practice your piano scales for 15 minutes? Great! Celebrate these wins to keep you moving forward. And remember that you can do it!