CEBU, Philippines – As New Year approaches and you want to set your own New Year's resolutions, remember that you can either set yourself up for success or failure. No one wants to attempt a positive change in his or her life, only to dump his or her goal in a few short weeks. But 24 percent of people fail to keep their resolutions every year.
There's a joke tagging January 17 as "Dump Your Resolutions Day." Many people don't get their resolutions upheld beyond that day. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can actually use the start of a new year to make significant changes that can make a lasting impact on your life.
Here are six ways to achieve your New Year's resolutions in 2016:
Set short-term goals.
Maybe we should choose "New Month's Resolution" every 30 or 31 days, instead of New Year's Resolution once a year. Try breaking down a larger goal into shorter periods of time. Why not shorten the timing of your resolution to what suits your particular goal rather than something that fits neatly on the calendar?
Write down your goals and share them with a friend or two.
In a study on goal-setting at the Dominican University of California, one group of participants wrote their goals down, broke them into action steps, and shared them with friends. This group's success rate was high - 62 percent had achieved their goals or were halfway there, compared to the 43 percent who only thought deeply about the goals and rated their difficulty and importance. Taking it a step further, of the goal-setters who did all of the above and also sent weekly updates to a friend, 76 percent were at least halfway to achieving their goals.
Consider keeping a journal with your goals for 2016 and reviewing them weekly. Enlist the support of friends or colleagues, share your plans with them, get feedback and meet at regular intervals to share your progress.
Create momentum.
Knock off a few important steps early in the process. For example, say your resolution is to get on track for retirement. If you have a pretty good idea that you are behind in your savings, don't wait until you have completed an exhaustive and thorough analysis. Bump up your contributions right away - even if it's only a little bit.
Pick your game-changer.
Sometimes changing behavior can be challenging. It's simple in theory, but when the rubber hits the road, we can easily fall back on old bad habits. Light a fire under your goals to make yourself committed and accountable for your actions. Consider using negative consequences when you
accountable for what you really want to accomplish. Consider using negative consequences when you don't complete the action steps you've committed to.
Nudge yourself.
A little reminder can go a long way - especially when you remind yourself why you want to accomplish this goal . Skip "Dump Your Resolutions Day" and simply set up reminders to encourage yourself to stick with it. Use the calendar on your smartphone or work computer. Set a recurring reminder or appointment to review your progress toward your goal.
Ask others to remind you to check in and do the same for them. Set up a private group on Facebook, use a group Google Docs goal sheet, or sign up for an app like MyFitnessPal that is meant for group interaction and reminders. Encourage each other to stick with your promises to yourselves.
The New Year is a time to hope and dream and to make those dreams a reality, but it takes work. You can set yourself up for success by starting early, setting up realistic action steps, and engaging supportive people so 2016 becomes a year of great accomplishments for you.
(www.forbes.com)