The beginning of a new year is a great time to make some changes and focus on the future. Unfortunately, many of the things we resolve to do in January fall apart before we even get out of January!
Let's take a look at why we're so quick to let go of goals we set, and what you can do differently to ensure you have a fulfilling and productive year. We've even included a handy KPI guide for you to download once you've finished reading!
Reasons New Year’s Resolutions Fail
You lost focus- You backslid on old habits
- You were too busy to do new things
- It was much harder than anticipated
- It was much more complicated than anticipated
- You weren’t disciplined enough
You lost focusAny of these sound familiar? There’s no question that any one of these things could knock you off course, but the real issue is that we spend far more time thinking about what we want and very little time thinking about how we’ll achieve what we want.
When identifying your goals, remember that they’re not set in stone. It’s perfectly ok to revise your goals to make them more realistic/achievable after working towards them for a while. Setting achievable goals means you get to complete them, which in turn will lead to more success, and a sense of confidence. The more confident you are, the more likely you are to succeed!
The best way to keep yourself motivated towards a resolution is to realise why you’re making it. A big enough ‘Why’ will always keep you focused and spur you on when things get tough. A great why will get you out of bed at 4:45 to go to the gym, or motivate you to make those extra 10 sales calls even though you’re tired. The bigger your ‘why’ the more momentum you’ll build.
Always keep your goalsetting positive. Focus on ‘closing more clients’ rather than ‘not losing as many clients’. Whenever you review yourself it should always be with the aim to become better, not become less bad.
Finally, have someone else evaluate and feedback on your goals. Without feedback from an outside party it’s hard to be clear whether you’re having real success ornot being hard enough on yourself. Whoever you choose to give you feedback can highlight your successes, point you in the direction of improvements, and act as a motivator if times get tough.
Once you’ve run your goals past someone else, it’s time to create a plan
Creating A Successful Plan
A well thought out plan of how you’re going to achieve your goal is essential if you want to stick to your resolutions. That means doing two key things:
- Identify and understand the small actions that result in a larger achievement
- Recognising what is achievable in a set length of time
With this information, you will be able to put together a plan of action that is achievable, and builds momentum as you move through it. Remember to keep a strong focus on your ‘why’ at all times, as that will be key to maintaining enthusiasm and drive when working on smaller tasks that don’t necessarily feel connected to your larger goal.
Ready to get started? Download the planner below and start laying out your goals.
