6 Ways To Set Achievable Goals And Start New Habits For The New Year
6 Ways To Set Achievable Goals And Start New Habits For The New Year
1. Try One New Habit At A Time
Developing new habits are tough!
Trying to juggle multiple new habits and make them stick is even harder…
Don’t overcomplicate your life and attempt to implement every new habit you have planned all at once.
Take it slow and implement one at a time to achieve lasting success.
2. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals
Creating SMART goals is an effective way to plan out your goals and make them a reality.
SMART Goals stands for:
- S: Specific – Create narrow, focused, specific goals (Ex. Goal: Workout more – Specific: Do 10 pushups daily)
- M: Measurable – Ensure you can track your progress (Ex. Goal: Declutter your home – Measurable: Declutter, donate, trash 5 items daily for 3 months)
- A: Attainable – Be ambitious with your goals, but allow them to be reachable within a proper time frame (Ex. Goal: Pay off all debts in 3 months – Attainable: Pay off one debt by the end of the year)
- R: Relevant – Ask yourself “why” before committing to a goal (Make sure you’re not spending time on something that isn’t relevant to your overall goals and aspirations)
- T: Time-Based – Give yourself a deadline (Time creates urgency)
Check out more tips about setting SMART goals here:
3. Establish Consistent Habits
Establishing consistency is often the next hardest thing aside from actually starting a new habit…
Being consistent with your habits comes down to a few things:
- Know your “WHY” – what benefit will I get from this?
- Break your habit/goal into smaller pieces – Make sure it’s easy and ensure there’s no friction. (Ex. Setting your workout clothes out to wear the night before)
- Make it something you enjoy – Even if it’s hard, find an aspect of the process that’s fun, or maybe the result/your WHY is the driving factor of enjoyment.
Another thing to consider when making a habit stick is to create your habits in the same place and at the same time (In some cases, the same type of clothes, e.g., gym clothes)
This can remove mental barriers and allow you to fall into a rythmn!
We are creatures of habit, so keep these two aspects the same, and repeating your habits will be easier.
4. Try Habit Stacking
Sometimes creating consistent habits are so challenging that we give up or stop trying.
When this happens, it’s easy to feel hopeless.
However there is a trick to help you seamlessly integrate new habits with existing ones.
This is called Habit Stacking…
Habit Stacking involves using current habits as an anchor for your new aspiring habits.
Here’s an example: Pick out a task you do daily, like brushing your teeth. Next, add the new habit or task after. In this case, it will be the desire to read more often. “After I brush my teeth in the morning, I will read for 5-10 minutes.”
Learn more about habit stacking here:
5. Create I Am Statements
Journaling affirmations and I am statements can be a subtle but powerful way to not just achieve goals, but change your identity.
For Example: Linda wants to lose weight. She struggles with sugar cravings and junk food. She is someone trying to get in shape. However, when she changes her identity through affirmation and repetition (writing your goals & I am statements), she is now a healthy person not someone trying to get in shape.
This belief about her identity now slowly starts to shape her behavior. Instead of fighting cravings, she can say no to them overtime due to her identity as a “healthy person” because that’s not what a healthy person eats.
This sounds a little wild and isn’t something that happens overnight, but is something you can do that can affect you on a deeper level subconsciously.
There’s science to back how affirmations can impact our behavior in a positive way and yield greater results.
Still don’t believe?
Writing down positive affirmations and “I Am” statements actually rewire your brain, creating new neural pathways and strengthening positive existing ones.
Sidenote: I always thought writing down goals was a little silly and useless, but every time I would hear about a successful person, they all had the same thing in common…
They always wrote down their goals.
Not just to keep track, but to set their intention and create a mindset for achievement on the surface and on a deeper level.
6. Let Go Of Perfectionism
Perfectionism is one of the major obstacles to making progress and setting goals.
It often leads to stagnation and prevents you from taking action.
Tip: Remind yourself that it’s okay to fail and it’s okay to make mistakes. Things will work out just fine, and things will never be “just right”, but done is better than perfect.
Related Posts:
