We are not even four weeks into 2012 and the headlines on New Year’s resolutions are few and far between. So what happens to those resolutions?
During January, about 20% drop theirs, in July 50% are still working on theirs. At the end of the year, when it is time to make new New Year’s resolutions, 1 out of 10 have accomplished or are still working of theirs. So why is it so hard?
In Psychology Today, Jim Taylor points out that many of the popular resolutions mean a significant change in lifestyle. Some of the most popular resolutions are loosing weight, exercising and getting organized, which means changing habits and mindset and that is hard work!
A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to The Mom’s Roundtable (it’s in the second half of the show) at Mom Talk Radio to discuss New Year’s resolutions. It turned out that Sarah, the other mom at the table, also made goals throughout the year. Specific goals for the next few months are easier to reach than big fluffy ones and might be part of several larger goals. Take the pledge to replace short car trips with bike rides for example. It makes the air cleaner, saves gas money and gives you exercise as well. Biking and walking is a bit slower than the car, but the 10 or 20 extra minutes are well worth all of the benefits.
Writing goals down and/or making them public helps with sticking to them. Eva Liljendahl, business coach at Inspiration for Excellence advised me last summer to write down the goals for my business and not just keep them in my head. I had a clear view of what I wanted to accomplish so it didn’t take long, but it made a huge difference when I started to use them as a high level to-do-list. I was amazed to see things happen!
So, how am I doing on my New Year’s resolution to get to bed earlier? I did get more sleep for a couple of weeks and then I had a busy week at the Chicago Merchandise Mart plus a screwed up blog to fix last night, so I need to get back on track. Two steps forward and one step back…
How are you doing on yours?
Elisabeth
