New Year Resolutions to New Year Reality
According to a Forbes article, many studiesย have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to theirย newย year resolutions after just 30 days, while only as few asย 8% went on to achieve them eventually!
Haveย you ever wondered whyย the majority of the population tend to fall short of achieving their new year's resolutions?ย And if you are sick and tired of not fulfilling your new year's resolutions, year in and year out, here are 3ย areasย which you might want to consider to improve your probability of reaching your goals this year
1. Knowing your why is 10 times more important than knowing the how!
Whileย manyย peopleย tendย toย attributeย theirย failureย toย achieveย theirย goalsย toย theย lackย of certain resources,ย itย isย moreย oftenย theย lackย ofย aย strongย desire which causes themย toย fallย shortย onย theirย goals.ย Forย instance,ย when Iย usedย toย beย inย direct sales,ย myย mentorย wouldย often encourage usย toย identifyย ourย own "whys" for wanting to succeed inย the business. For he knew from experienceย thatย theย momentย we were able to discover our "whys", the "how" would usually take care of itself. In factย more recently,ย Iย have also hadย an encounterย with a highly successfulย insuranceย agentย who shared howย hisย salesย breakthroughย finally came after many years of setback. It was duringย theย yearย whenย heย hadย hisย first child that he became an MDRT achiever. It seemed that the needย toย provideย moreย forย his family naturally led him to work harderย than in previous years andย he was ableย toย findย better waysย to prospect and close more deals.
Once again, knowing the why is infinitely more important than knowing just the what and the how. Thusย it would always beย wise for usย to beginย the settingย ofย ourย newย year resolutions with the following questions: Why is it important for me to realize this goal? How could I increase my motivation to get it?
2. Start thinking small in order to achieve the big
Contrary to what most people think, I believe there is power in starting small. So often, I have seen people give up on their new year resolutions even before the end of the 1st quarter as they conclude that it is impossible to achieve those big audacious goals. Yet by learning how to chunk our big goals down into smaller goals for us to fulfill, it tends to buildย up our motivation and momentum towards hitting our final target. For instance,ย if you have set a new year resolution this year toย doย atย least 100 pushups daily, the last thing you would want to do is to force yourself toย accomplish theย goalย right away. You could potentially start off with just doing 30 pushups a day, gradually increasingย them to 40 pushups, 50 pushups.ย Inย due time,ย youย wouldย be on your way to achieving your ultimate goal ofย doing 100 pushups daily. Remember onceย againย that there's power in thinking small!
3. Break the limiting pattern!
Finally, if all else fails, ask yourself ifย you might potentially be stuck in a limitingย pattern? After all, we people are creatures of habit. Soย unlessย youย findย aย wayย to interruptย the limiting pattern,ย changeย is unlikelyย to happen.ย For instance,ย ifย you currentlyย feel you lack the discipline to do your sales calls every day, instead of beating yourself up, think about how you could potentially interrupt the limiting pattern by increasing the motivation to do those sales calls. How about finding new and different ways to reach out to your prospects where you could enjoy the process at the same time? Be creative and have fun!
