It’s that time of the year again: the time when most people have peak motivation and are ready to take on their New Year’s resolutions.
However, creating a goal that you can accomplish is much harder than just saying what you want to achieve. According to the New York Post, only about 8% of people achieve their new year’s goal. In contrast, 40-50% of the United States population creates them. Creating an achievable goal will be crucial in changing your 2020 for the better.
In an interview with VALLEY Magazine, Life Coach Jodi Sloane, a University of California-Riverside graduate and creator of JSLifeCoaching.com, spoke about how she helps her clients set their new year’s goals. Jodi shared that setting goals are fundamental because it is like looking into the ocean and moving with the current. If you have a defined purpose, you can direct yourself and keeping moving until you’ve reached the place you wanted to go.
Brainstorm Then Specify
When it comes to thinking of resolutions, Jodi recommends having a brainstorm session and writing down any goal you can think of, no matter how broad they are. Then, once you have them written down, you want to go in, pick the ones that you want to focus on and make them as specific as possible.
“Phrase your goals in a way that is measurable, meaning that you can define what is successful. For example, if you want to lose weight, how much do you want to lose in total and how much you want to lose per month,” Jodi says. “Not every part of the goal needs to be measurable, but the end goal does.”
Create A “How-To” Goal
After making your goals measurable and specific, it’s time to make a “how-to goal.” A how-to goal is a detailed explanation of what to do day-to-day to achieve your end goal. If you want to spend less money on lattes, your how-to goal could be that you will only buy two lattes a week and try to make the rest at your apartment or dorm.
Check In On Your Progress
Now that you have your New Year’s goal, it’s just as important to check in on your progress throughout the year so you can see how successful you are. Jodi suggests checking in on every Sunday to analyze your results from the week prior. If you were successful — why? If you weren’t — why weren’t you and how can you adjust your upcoming week to get back on track? A great way to making sure you stay on track is to establish an accountability partner: someone could be a friend or family member who has similar goals as you. Check in with your partner at the beginning of the week to track your progress and keep each other accountable.
Reward Yourself
Finally, and most importantly, take time to acknowledge your success!
“If you are successful in your path to achieving your goals, it’s so important to take a second and pat yourself on the back. Reward yourself or tell someone about your success,” Jodi says. Ensuring that you show pride in yourself for making progress will help you stay motivated to get to your end goal.
For many, setting goals is an essential part of starting the new year, and with this guide, you can create a goal that allows you to succeed in 2020.
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