Top 10 New Year Resolutions – Are Yours On The List?

Do you make a resolution on New Year’s Eve? If so, you’re in good company! Forty five percent of Americans make New Year’s Resolutions, and there are a few repeat offenders every January first!

In fact, as we go through the list of the top-10 New Year Resolutions, if you are like most folks, you will most likely notice a handful of resolutions that you (either with or without success) attempted to accomplish in the past.

10) Finish that around the house “to-do” list.
9) Read more.
8) Get organized.
7) Save Money.
6) Volunteer.
5) Better work/life balance.
4) Quit smoking.
3) Learn something new.
2) Drink less alcohol.

and the #1 resolution is:
1) Lose weight.

Now - the nice part about a new year resolution is that if you didn’t get around to something last year, you get to add it to your list for this coming year.  However, the problem that most people have is that they keep adding the same exact things year after year or worse yet – they failed at it so many times in the past that they don’t even bother trying anymore.

So how can you accomplish your goal(s) this coming year?

Back when I managed a marketing firm, the company I worked for loved management training.  I took management courses and training every month or so. To be honest, some of what we learned was pretty worthless, but one element has stuck with me, and that’s how to create an reachable goal. A goal – or a New Year’s resolution – is much more likely to succeed if it is FAST:

Flexible – If you’re not able to meet your goal, how will you adapt?
Attainable – How are you going to achieve this? Do you have a plan?
Specific – With a specific goal you know when you’re on the right track.
Timed - Set a time limit or better yet - set smaller mini-goals every few months.

So, how can you use "FAST" to make your New Year’s resolutions successful? Let’s look at the #1 resolution: Lose weight:

• Make it flexible – The main thing to understand about goals is that they should be adjustable - so this part might happen on-the-fly.  For example, if you hurt your ankle in February, you might be off your feet for a while.  Therefore, you can be flexible by adjusting your goal for the year or trying to make up the lost time by exercising more once you’re on your feet again. Flexibility stops real life problems from derailing your whole plan.

• Make it attainable – Losing 100 pounds by January 15th is not very realistic.  Therefore, set a goal that you can truly live with.  For example, - "I will lose five pounds by March 1st, and I’ll do that by walking for 30 minutes a day."

• Make it specific – Losing weight is not really a goal because it is wide open to interpretation.  For example, are you looking to lose 1 pound or 100 pounds this year?  Instead make it specific - "I want to lose 20 pounds by by 2015."

• Make it timed –  While the ultimate goal may be 20 pounds in a year, you need to break up the timing for how you intend to reach this long-term goal - "I want to lose five pounds by March 1ts, five more by June 1st, five more by September 1st, and five more by December 1st."

So as you can see, when you approach your New Year resolution with a plan of action, you are more likely to reach your desired goal.  One final thing to remember is that while most people want to go it alone, there’s no shame in asking for help.  After all - when you quit smoking with the patch, you’re getting help.  When you lose weight by joining a food program or gym, you’re getting help.  When you save money by using a finance balancing software or money management company, you’re getting help.

Therefore, if you need a little help with reaching your new year goals, be sure to contact us to see if we can help cross that resolution off your list - forever!

Get Help With Your New Year Goals Now