Want to succeed and reach those goals in 2018? The famous New Year’s resolution is another tradition in Australia. How many of your NY resolutions have been successful in the past?
In 2017 I made a goal to apply for the Telstra Awards and being a Finalist really made my year. Achieving your goals can change your life and here are my tips!
It is the time of year we make the decision to improve our lives for the better. BUT our habits often get in the way of our ideal goals. Here is a list of hints and tips for making your NY resolutions work for you in 2018!
- What strategies have worked in the past and helped you stick to your goals? Do you pick a time when you have spare time to start the new plan? Do you have others help and support you? Whatever works for you is likely to work for you in the future!
- Need to get past your old New Year’s resolutions, maybe try something new! I’ve included this TED talk playlist of awesome ideas for you new year. Be creative and try something new! https://www.ted.com/playlists/217/talks_to_inspire_new_year_s_re
- Make your goals realistic and healthy. So many people make the mistake of making unrealistic goals, like making a goal for the weight they were 20 years ago. To make a goal of losing 10 kgs is a good place is often not a good place to start. For some lucky people this works, but a different way is to make a smaller goal. How about 2kgs? Is that best for your health? Is it more important you lose weight or start to exercise regularly? Maybe exercise regularly and you might not need to have a goal for losing weight?
- Spend time working out how your goal might be stepped out into smaller steps. Let’s say you want to go overseas. First step might be paying off your Christmas credit card, next step saving. In order to do that you might decide to reduce your take away. You might decide to go for a run and cancel that gym membership that you don’t use. You might spend a bit more time finding fun free activities rather than expensive ones. Spend time planning out the changes needed. Lots of little changes are sometimes quite hard difficult to justify as each time you eat out it doesn’t feel like a lot of money. Stick to your plan and don’t be swayed!
If you think this is a good idea the next step is to start. Work out when you are likely to best start your new program. Ideally don’t start on the 1 January as you will probably have been out late with friends and that will not work! Good luck with your 2018 goals!
Author: Vivian Jarrett
Director Vision Psychology and M1 Psychology in Brisbane