How to Make a New Year’s Resolution That Works

So, to have a successful New Year’s resolution, I propose three steps to follow:

1. Be Specific. Know what you want to happen exactly, and how you will measure your progress exactly. Instead of “exercise more,” make your goal to “jog 30 minutes everyday.” This second statement can be measured, and you know when you are failing to follow your resolution. It also helps to write down your goal or tell a friend about it who will hold you accountable, because then you will be more likely to continue with the program.
2. Have an Ultimate Goal. Jogging 30 minutes everyday will put you in shape, but it’s hard to know when you have succeeded with what you set out to do. Perhaps you can jog everyday, training for a 5K road race at which you hope to run a certain time. Having a specific goal will help you stay focused.
3. Don’t Be Sure that You Will Succeed. This last step may seem a little counter-intuitive, but when you think about it a little, it makes sense. The greatest accomplishments in our lives are things that we weren’t really sure we would succeed in when we first set out. If I am certain that I could train for a 5K race and then complete the course in 30 minutes, I should make my goal 27 minutes. If I am still reasonably sure that I could do 27 minutes, I should shoot for 25. I am not saying to be unrealistic, but you should leave some room to surprise yourself. At the beginning of the year, you should not be able to run your goal time. You have to bring about change to do so.

Change is difficult, so if we really want our New Year’s resolutions to work, they should be too. So often we are suppressed by a fear of failure- few people want to set difficult goals because they know there is a chance they won’t succeed. However, I believe it’s necessary to challenge ourselves to be something more than what we already are and to risk surpassing our own expectations. Maybe after jogging everyday, you run the race in 26 minutes instead of 25. While it may seem disappointing, consider that your original goal was 30, and you were hesitant about breaking 27. 26 minutes is already faster than any expectation you previously had for yourself, and knowing what you can do, I think you will easily find the drive to try again at breaking 25. Maybe next time you lower the goal time even further.

So how are you different from last year? If you don’t know the answer to that question, then it’s time to make a New Year’s resolution that will actually bring about some change. Set a bar, and set the bar high. You won’t regret it.