January 1st is the day when millions of New Year resolutions are made by people who want to lose weight, earn more money, quit smoking and lot more dreams. Considering that a New Year signals a new beginning, a new hope, it sounds perfectly fine to have resolutions, and change your life for the better.
But, have you ever wondered how many of them actually stick with their resolutions and deliver success?
In a research conducted by Journal of Clinical Psychology of University of Scranton, it was found that in USA, only 39% in their twenties and 14% in their 50s are able to meet their resolutions by the end of the year. Overall, only 46% people are able to carry on their promises after 6 months.
Why more than 50% of people are not able to carry through the promises which they have made, for their own betterment?
Here are the top 10 New Year resolutions made by Twitter users for 2015:
As we can see, all of them are related with bringing on a positive change in their lives. But if we analyze the research results, then only 4 out of 10 will be able to match their promises. Such a waste of determination and positivity!
The secret lies in tricking your mind into believing that success can be achieved, and then carrying on with the promise.
Here are 5 psychological tricks, which can help you to achieve success with New Year resolutions:
Contents
Frame The ‘Why’ And Read It Daily
Why have you decided to join a gym and exercise daily for 60 minutes? Why have you made your mind to quit smoking? We tend to procrastinate and quit in between when we forget the Why part, and start worrying on the How part.
Once you have framed the answer to Why, and framed it somewhere so that you can read it daily, it will automatically give you the boost, the momentum to carry forward, and finish the task. Find out the Why, and the mystery is solved.
Use The Monday Magic
New Year is an one time annual event, but a Monday comes after every 7 days. We have observed that if a person starts his journey of achieving his goals on a Monday, then it becomes easy for him to monitor the progress, and measure the success. In case both the New Year resolution and Monday magic are combined, then the results can translate into absolute success. Our minds would be automatically programmed to carry on the good work, Monday after Monday, thereby helping us to cruise the whole year. We suggest, start on a Monday, and make it happen!
Clear Your Mind & Be Specific
Losing weight can be a vague goal, but losing 15 kgs in the next 365 days converts into a mission. Earning more money seems really broad, but increasing your annual income by 40% in the next 52 weeks make it a determined approach.
Be specific, laser targeted with your goals, and help them to become concrete in your mind. When our minds have the right focus and the exact target, then achieving them becomes easier, compared to vague, broad ‘desires’ with a bleak future.
Start Small & Don’t Let Disappointments Change Your Focus
Losing 15 kgs will not happen overnight. You wont get a lottery suddenly, and become a millionaire. That high paying job which you are dreaming wont come to you next hour. Drill it into your mind: Success is a slow, gradual process, and it takes time. Even if you fail to go to gym for a week, don’t let this failure affect the next 50 weeks of the year.
As we shared earlier, read the Why part again, and visualize the future once the New Year resolutions have been taken care of. Start small, but think big. Keep on the tempo, and don’t ditch it in-between.
Resist the temptation for Plan B
Entrepreneurs have this habit of creating a backup plan, in case the original one doesn’t work. More than the safety cushion, it’s a psychological trick to feel safe. Yes, in business, it does work; but it can actually prove to be quite harmful in case of New Year resolutions. Once your mind is aware that there exists a plan B, you can become complacent, and over-confident. You will quit one session of your gym, start with one cigarette, and blame all the failures on Plan B. Resist the temptation for creating a Plan B, and stick with the original plan: the Why of your promises.
Bonus: Do listen to these motivating TED Talks, which will charge you up, and make you a real life hero.
I hope that you are able to stick on with your New Year resolutions, and make it happen. You, are the only person on this Earth who can make it possible. And, if you have created the resolutions, then you are well on your way.
Keep the fight on!
