Remember when we talked about the difference between a goal and wishful thinking? Most New Year’s resolutions are more like vague ambitions than blueprints for concrete change — and that’s one of the main reasons they so often fail.
This year, I urge you to make a plan instead of a wish for your New Year’s resolution.
If you want to follow through on your resolution, it needs to be specific. Phrases like “get out of debt” or “do more yoga” are far too vague. “Pay an extra $25 towards my debt every paycheck” is specific and actionable, and “Use a 15-minute yoga video every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday” sounds like a concrete plan you can follow.
Challenge:
Make a simple new year’s resolution. Try to keep your resolution straightforward, small, and very specific. Remember, tiny changes build up over time. You don’t need to make a huge, sweeping resolution to see results! Make a goal you can sustain over a long period. Write it into your daily schedule if you need to. You can even rearrange your home environment to help make your resolution easier. Think about obstacles you may encounter and develop a strategy to deal with them before they happen. Put your plan into action on January 1st!
Extra Credit:
If you want to make an even more effective new year’s resolution, you can take the VIA Character Strengths Survey and make a goal involving one of your top strengths. I highly recommend this test. I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but learning to use my strengths more consistently has made a real impact on my well-being.
Bonus Content:
Although habit trackers are common enough, I couldn’t find one with a specific detail I needed. I wanted to include non-daily habits, so I designed my own tracker. My tracking sheet includes a way to specify how many times you intend to perform each task per week. You can download the habit tracker here (and an explanation here). I hope this helps! Happy Holidays.