Do you set New Year’s resolutions? Do you know how to make resolutions so that they actually stick?

I know some people laugh off the idea of setting resolutions and I don’t blame them… I think the statistic is that by the end of January something like 92% of resolutions have already failed.

Doesn’t exactly conjure up hope, does it? If most people fail when it comes to sticking to their resolutions no wonder so many decide not to set any resolutions at all.

Well, I want to share with you how we can improve our lives, why change is possible and how we can prevent ourselves from getting in the same rut again this year.

It’s just a matter of knowing why typical resolutions don’t work in the first place and how a shift in your perspective about resolutions can make all the difference…

Key Points Re: How to Make Resolutions Stick

People tend to try to accomplish too much all at once. A study done at Stanford University showed that the more goals the subjects in the study made, the less likely they were to achieve them. So remember, you can always add a new action step or goal at a later time.
People will try to do the really hard habits right away, which makes it much more likely for you to become overwhelmed or intimidated by the difficulty and then quit.
A really common mistake is when people depend on discipline to get them through. Unfortunately, this isn’t how human nature works… if we really don’t want to do something we won’t be able to force ourselves to do it for very long.
Resolutions are often too vague. Like people say they are going to exercise. Where’s the concrete plan in that statement? What kind of exercise? For how long? On which days? For the purpose of what?
5 simple resolution stickiness strategies are:
- Use the snowball effect
- Program your habits, not your effort
- Build in automatic accountability
- Tweak your default
- Avoid the happiness trap

Episode Transcript

You can download the transcript of this episode by clicking here.

Home Play

Pick a habit for the new year. Just one habit to start with.

Commit as publicly as possible to creating this new habit in the next 2 months.

[Hint Hint: Why not tell us about it in the private Calm Living Community on Facebook?]

Break the habit down into at least 8 baby steps, starting with a ridiculously easy step.

Choose a trigger for your habit.

Do the first, really easy baby step for one week, right after your trigger.

Each week move on to a slightly harder step.

Then just repeat the process with habit #2.

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The post CLB 027: How to Make Resolutions Actually Stick appeared first on Calm Living Blueprint | Social Anxiety Support.

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