How Christopher Never Breaks a New Year’s Resolution

I was impressed when Christopher told me that he never breaks a New Year’s Resolution. As someone who regularly promises to exercise more and eat better year in and year out, I wanted to know how he did this.

His secret? A few years ago Christopher made a resolution to never make New Year’s Resolutions. And he’s kept that resolution ever since.

According to Money Magazine, less than 10% of New Years’ Resolutions are kept for the entire year, and most of them are broken by Valentine’s Day. So, Christopher’s philosophy seems to make sense.

If you want to set some goals this year, here’s Money Magazine’s pitfalls to avoid:

1. Set unrealistic goals – Don’t set yourself up for failure. Choose goals that you will hold past February 14.

2. Pledge to change in a vague way – If your goals are not specific then you won’t know if you reached them or not. Instead of saying “exercise more” set a goal of “walking outside twice per week for at least 30 minutes per walk.”

3. Don’t bother tracking your progress – You can’t feel good about how well you are doing if you don’t know you are making progress. Use an app or some other tool to show how much you are saving, how often you are exercising, etc.

4. Focus on the negative – Don’t label yourself as “bad with money” or “can’t resist dessert.” Focus instead on your strengths like flexibility or willingness to learn a new skill. Leverage these strengths to tackle your goals.

5. Expose yourself to temptation – The most difficult place to be when trying to set up a new habit is the place where you did your old habit. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking then being in the smoking area for breaks will be difficult on you. Put yourself in a new environment will help you break the old habits.

If you’d like to read the entire article, click on Avoid These 5 Pitfalls That’ll Undermine Your New Year’s Resolutions.

Want to make changes in your life? Read my life planning book: Get Me Off the Treadmill!

Contact me Valerie.MacLeod@HainesCentre.com

Photograph by Valerie MacLeod