How to set goals you can stick to

Research carried out by the University of Scranton in the USA found that, of the US citizens sampled, 45% made New Year’s resolutions, but only 8% actually achieved them.

So what happens? You know what you want, you know it is important to you, you sort of know what to do, but the stats say that you probably won’t stick to it. Before you know it, you may find yourself repeating the same patterns.

So, want to know how to keep those resolutions, make permanent changes and achieve your goals? Read on.

How to set goals you can stick to

Step one: take a moment to get to know yourself

I would suggest taking a look at your values and what is important to you. When you create goals or resolutions, they need to be lined up with your values.

If you value creativity and spontaneity, then you may not be inspired to work towards obtaining an office job, working nine to five every day of the week.

Too many people aspire to things that they would actually hate to have. Don’t bother with goals that don’t inspire you, or that are what other people want you to do. You will not achieve these types of goals because you will have no motivation to pursue them when the going gets tough.

Ask yourself: “What is it about this that will make me happy?”

Step two: define what you want to achieve and create a positive goal

Make it simple and specific. State what you want, not what you don’t want. This gives your brain a positive focus of attention.

For example, don’t say you want to lose weight this year. State your target weight, then work out what you need to lose in order to achieve it.

You have to be able to measure your progress and achievement, otherwise how will you know when you have been successful?

Ask yourself: “How will I know when I have achieved this? What will have changed?”

Step three: decide on the timeframe for achieving this goal

A goal without a deadline is just wishful thinking. Make it realistic, but push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

You need an end point and also steps along the way, particularly if the goal will need some months to achieve.

Step four: make it powerful

Write this goal down. Create a vision board around the goal, draw pictures, make it visual.

Put this goal where you can see it, maybe as a screensaver on your phone, or stick it on your bedroom mirror. If you find it useful, tell someone about it.

The more obvious and integral this goal is to your life, the more you are likely to work towards it.

Step five: be consistent, don’t give up

Don’t view a setback as an indication that you need to abandon the whole process. Take a moment, work out what happened and why, and then decide what you need to do in order to get back on track.

“All or nothing” thinking is not the way forward. You need to be tenacious and consistent. You wouldn’t give all your money away just because you lost £5 out of your pocket.

Step six: celebrate

When you get to where you want to be, celebrate. So often in life, we go crashing through and onto the next project or job and fail to recognise our success.

Doing that simply means that we only ever pay attention when we fail. Our thinking becomes wonky and we become overly critical of ourselves.

Recognise your achievement and reward all your hard work.

And finally...

Work out now how you are going to sustain your success. A sustainable lifestyle, helpful thinking habits and doing habits can lead to increased happiness and reduced stress.

There are no guarantees in life. Sometimes things get in the way of the best-laid plans. Sometimes we need to change direction or go around obstacles.

That’s OK, but don’t lose your dreams. I believe in you.