The new year rolled around and you probably made some ‘New Years Resolutions’. But just like a lot of people and resolutions, it probably isn’t going to stick. There are plenty of reasons why it most likely wont, one being “old habits die hard”.
So what can you do to make any resolution(s) more manageable and palatable? There are plenty of ways and plenty of answers. No one answer is correct, the way differs from person to person so try out what works for you.
Lifehacker did a great article about this very topic. I’ll summarize it here for you. They give 10 ‘mind hacks’ to trick yourself to sticking to your guns. I’ve gone through them all and I think they might work, but here are my two top person best ways to not just trick yourself but to make the new resolutions into habits.
- Don’t do it for yourself
- Ever wonder why it’s hard to cook ‘just’ for yourself all the time, but it’s funner and easier to cook for you and your loved one? Try it with resolutions! Don’t just make a goal that is self-serving. Make this goal based upon them and you. For example, change “I want to lose 30 pounds” to “When I loose 30 pounds, I will be able to help my loved one more because I’m more physically fit”. Do it for them, not for you.
- Have a good friend ‘spot’ you
- This is simply having a good friend who is not afraid to yell at you, to yell at you and motivate you to keep up with your resolution. This works best if your friend is a really close friend and knows how to push your buttons and is not afraid to do so.
LifeHacker mentioned these 10 ways to making your resolutions stick, I highlighted the ones which I think deserve a bit extra attention:
- Think progress not perfection
- Set up a schedule review
- Conquer huge backlogs with a DMZ or half-life approach
- Make it into a geeky data game
- Utilize public shame
- Use a timer
- Pick only one actual resolution
- Create a reminder network
- Distract yourself at the moment of temptation
- Roll 12 habits into one resolution
To explain those 4 with a bit more extra detail:
1. Progress, not perfection: I see way to many people focus on getting it ‘just’ right. I’ve also seen this drive fathers, children, and business people alike crazy! Don’t worry about it being perfect! What perfection can mean, is that you don’t fulfil the resolution to 100%. For example, I know it is very hard to go cold turkey from smoking. So instead, do the best you can. Don’t shoot yourself just because you took one puff! The idea is to work towards your goal.
2. Schedule a review: Many people do not understand how important this is. Major corporations always have weekly, quarterly, monthly, yearly reviews for a reason; they work and they work well. The point here is to see where you are. If you are just unable to keep up, change your schedule. Or maybe revise it a bit. This scheduled set time is also a good time to remotivate yourself on the goal! Picture yourself already at your goal. See how better your life will be once your there, and use that constant perk of motivation to keep going!
3. Public shame: This ones fun! What do most American’s fear? Terrorists? No. Sickness? No. Dieing? Nope. It’s public speaking! They are afraid of being ‘up’ there and being put to the test. They are afraid of being laughed at and failing. Use this to your advantage. If you have ‘the public’ watching you, you are far more likely to motivate yourself to not screw up because if you do you know they WILL shame you.
4. Timer: This one isn’t all to clear. This is not a ‘time’ thing. This is about setting specific amounts. If you’re goal is to get healthy, well change it! Make it more substantial to something like: lose 30 pounds. And that’s not it: “lose 30 pounds, by eating 3 carrots a day, exercising 1 hour each morning, …..” and so forth. Make it VERY concrete.
If you really want to take public shame to the next level though, try this service out: Stickk.com. There idea behind this service is that you pay them a certain set of money, say $100.00 USD. You set your goal, and you setup to whom the money will be paid. Who is the person getting the money? Someone you absolutely hate. Don’t worry, this hated person isn’t going to get your money … unless you fail to complete your goal.
You have a moderator of your goal. They control the money and not you, so you are kept to your goal whether you want to or not 
. From the site, they say they have helped over 32,000 people stick to their goal already! Maybe it can help you too, especially since now there is a monetary price to pay if you don’t do what you say.
You can read the full LifeHacker article here: Top 10 Mind Hacks for Making Your Resolutions Stick
Picture from (slightly modified): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jakecaptive/132361609/
Let me know what you think below in the comment!
Related posts:
