New Year’s Resolutions

Dec. 27, 2014

Approximately one-half of the US population regularly makes New Year’s Resolutions each year. An additional 17% make resolutions periodically but not necessarily every year. However, by Jan. 20th over 70% of all people who made New Year’s Resolutions have already failed and given up. In the end, only 8% of the people who make New Year’s Resolutions are successful. How depressing!

What this tells me is that most people do not have the foggiest clue how to make their New Year’s Resolutions stick. Without a specific blueprint for success, those well-intended resolutions become simply wishes. You might as well wish upon a star.

The top 10 Resolutions are

1. lose weight
2. improve finances
3. get organized
4. exercise more
5. get a new job
6. learn something exciting
7. stop smoking
8. help others achieve their dreams
9. fall in love
10. spend more time with family

As you can tell, 47% of New Year’s Resolutions are concerned with self-improvement or education. So, it’s no surprise that losing weight is the #1 Resolution. Interesting to me is that the third most popular goal is to get organized. I feel vindicated that it isn’t only me.So, how do you improve your odds and make your New Year’s Resolutions stick? There are a number of things you can do to help yourself succeed.

 Six Steps To Success

1. Keep it simple.

Set your goals as simple one-sentence statements. I walk 3 miles a day. Goals that are complex are typically doomed to fail. For example: if your goal is to live life to its fullest, you are setting yourself up for failure unless you define what that specifically means to you.

2. Make it tangible.

Resolutions that are too ethereal are difficult to achieve due to their intangible nature. Rather than vowing to be a better citizen, set your goal to volunteer a certain number of hours per week in some specific service to your community or favorite charity.

3. Break it down.

Break your goals down into small steps. Actually, the smaller the steps the better. Psychologically, each time you cross something off your to-do list, the more motivated you become. So, build in small easily achievable steps knowing that with each one you cross off your list you will boost your motivation.

4. Be specific.

It’s difficult to know when you’ve reached your destination if you don’t know where you’re going. Instead of vowing to lose weight, set your goal to lose 1 pound per week. Or, you could set your goal to walk 3 miles a day, to spend 30 minutes a day studying something new or playing a game with your child.

5. Make it measurable.

Be realistic. It is unrealistic to expect to become fluent in French in one month’s time. Instead, set your goal to study the French language for 1 hour per day. Or, set your goal to save 10% of your income with each paycheck or to meet 2 new people each week. And, set a time deadline.

6. Be accountable.

Tell family, friends, co-workers your goals. Post them on social media sites. Be accountable for your actions or lack of. This carries both rewards for success or punishment for failure. Now, that should keep you honest.

Unrealistic and vague resolutions are fated to fail. And it is unrealistic to think that you can immediately overcome a habit you have spent years establishing. So, set realistic, simple, specific and measurable goals. Then, break each goal down into a series of small steps that will build upon each other. Practice. Repeat.

That all sounds so logical and simple. And, that would be fine if that was all you had to do, was to just do that. But, somewhere in that 92% of Resolution Makers that failed there must have been people who did those steps to success. And, they still failed. Why?

We fail because humans have unconscious minds. Neuroscientists tell us that our unconscious mind runs 85% to 95% of all the things we do or do not do (the percentage depends on which neuroscientist you believe). And, we all make limiting decisions during our journey through Life. When I ordered dinner tonight I chose broccoli as my vegetable. That meant I couldn’t have the other vegetable choice. I was limited. Limiting decisions can be major or minor. Those limiting decisions allow us to be successful or to fail. And, they are stored in and acted upon by our unconscious mind. Our unconscious minds then regurgitate those limitations upon us at all the wrong times.

Therefore, if you want your New Year’s Resolutions to be successful then you must first make some. Then, get your unconscious mind on board with your conscious desires. That way you set yourself up for success.

So, how do you get your conscious and unconscious mind on the same page and focused on the same goal? Hypnosis and self-hypnosis are my ways. Hypnosis is a state of relaxation that allows you easier access to your unconscious mind. It’s safe, easy and, once learned, is accessible to you throughout your lifetime.

If you are in danger of failing at your New Year’s Resolutions or simply want help to make success easier to achieve, then contact me at melissa@melissaroth.com.