Happy New Year!

It's that time of the year when most people take to dreaming again—thinking, hoping, wishing, and planning for something new in the New Year. About 50% of Americans will set (to some degree or another) New Year's Resolutions, yet a staggering few actually accomplish them. According to the statistics, only 8% of those who set New Year's Resolutions actually accomplish them. But that's not you, right?

Personally, I love to set goals. I really do. Perhaps that makes me a bit weird, but I get a lot of pleasure out of determining a goal, mapping out a course for achieving it, and then reaching it. The process is fun and exhilarating for me.

I have found that there are 4 Keys to New Year's Resolution Success. Before I get into the first Success Key, I need to get some assumptions out of the way. I assume that your New Year's Resolutions are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-sensitive). So to make sure that we are on the same page, let's review what good goal setting looks like.  

A quick review on S.M.A.R.T. goals.

You want your goals to be Specific—"Lose weight" is not specific. However, "Lose 20 pounds" is specific.

Measurable—"Become healthy" is not measurable. Though, "Become healthy enough to be able to run for 30 minutes at a 10 minute mile pace without stopping" is measurable.

Attainable—"Make a million dollars this year" is probably not an attainable goal if you are currently unemployed. So set a goal that will stretch you, but not break you. A goal that is so far beyond your reasonable reach will actually demotivate you more than it will motivate you.

Relevant—Some people call the "R" in SMART "Reasonable" or "Realistic" but those concepts are contained in Attainable. Relevant deals with having a goal that is relevant to your personal mission in life. Sure it may be time for some major changes in your life, however consider the relevance of a goal like "To travel from coast to coast by motorcycle" if you are currently a stay-at-home mom with 3 kids under 6 years old. Your current mission to care for you little ones is more relevant to who you are (at least currently). And raising kids is more adventurous than any motorcycle ride could ever be!

And finally, your goals need to be Time-Sensitive—"Write my first book" is not time-sensitive. The goal needs a deadline. "Write my first book and have it available to show to potential publishers by December 31" is time-sensitive. So double check those resolutions and make sure that they are S.M.A.R.T.

Ok. Now back to the 4 Keys To New Year's Resolution Success...

Key #1: Know your why

In order to accomplish your goals/resolutions you will need discipline. However, discipline alone will not get you to the finish line. I frequently talk to my coaching clients about their desire. You see, discipline without desire is pure drudgery. And no one wants to live a life of drudgery.

You have to know the "why" of your goal just as much as the "what" of your goal. Why do you want to accomplish your goal?

It's your goal, your resolution. Why do you want it? Be honest with yourself. Know why you want the goal. Let this motivate you to success.

What is your "why?"

Key #2: Focus on being

Ask yourself, "Who do I need to become in order to accomplish this goal?" If your goal is to lose 50 pounds, you need to become healthy. If your goal is to quit smoking, you need to become a non-smoker. If your goal is to make a million dollars, you need to become a millionaire.

The key here is to have the mindset, the attitude, the "being" of the person who would be able to achieve your goal. Healthy people maintain their bodies at healthy weights. Non-smokers do not smoke. Millionaires create financial opportunities and manage their money well.

Take a few minutes a day, close your eyes, and visualize your success. See yourself having accomplished your goal. How do you look and feel now that you have lost that weight, grown your business, read that book, etc, etc? Seeing the goal as already accomplished is a technique that elite athletes use. They practice their sport by visualizing their success: breaking the world record, dashing over the hurdles, standing on the podium with the medal around their neck. Picturing yourself as a "Goal Achieved Medalist" will create a lot of emotion that will power you forward.

Who do you need to be in order to reach your goal?

Key #3: Make it a habit

You will have greater success in reaching your goal if you can break it down into daily activities, actions, or behaviors. Ask yourself, "What are the actions that if I did them every day would guarantee that I reach my goal?"

Let's say you have a goal of increasing business revenue by 25% in the New Year. Great goal. What is the daily habit you could create? It might be to make 5 extra prospecting calls per day, to schedule one presentation meeting per day, and to call 3 past or current customers and ask for referrals. Or let's take a weight loss goal. You want to lose 30 pounds in 3 months. That's about ⅓ a pound a day which means cutting out or burning off roughly 1,000 calories a day. This could mean creating the habit of exercising aerobically for an hour a day. Or perhaps running for 30 minutes a day and cutting one meal in half. Or maybe walking for 30 minutes a day, only eating a salad or soup for dinner, and only drinking water instead of juice, soda, or alcohol.

Find a way to work on your goal every day so that you don't even have to think about it. You wake up, you go out for a walk. You arrive at work, you make 3 calls to clients and ask for referrals. You are hungry for dinner, you eat salad. You get the picture.

What habit can you create that will guarantee your success?

Key #4: Recognize your weaknesses

Making changes in your life is not easy. Recognize this and plan accordingly. This is where you get creative and plan on how to "trick" yourself. You know what your weaknesses are: plan for them.

It may be as simple as putting your exercise clothes next to your bed so that when you get up on the morning you literally trip over them and thus remind yourself of your goal. It could be writing "I only eat healthy food" on a large sticky note and putting it in the refrigerator or pantry so that you see it before you grab that unhealthy snack. It could be setting alarms on your smartphone that remind you to do the activity you had planned on. (For example: Alarm goes off every hour from 9am to 5pm to remind you to get up from your desk, stretch, and drink a ½ glass of water.)

Another part of this key is to anticipate distractions. If you are going to be traveling, and thus out of your normal routine, plan on how you will maintain your goal. Do not give in to the temptation to say, "Oh well, since I'm on vacation I do not have to eat healthy, exercise, read, make prospecting calls, etc…." You may need to modify the goal a bit, however, you can still find a way to creatively stick with it. A little advanced planning will go a long way.

The saying, "There are no unrealistic goals, only unrealistic time-frames," is good to keep in mind. You may realize that your goal of losing 30 pounds in 3 months was not as S.M.A.R.T as you thought. That's ok.  Don't let the delay keep you from the goal. Keep pushing forward. The goal is still completely valid. Don't give up, just adjust the deadline.

What can you do to plan for setbacks, distractions, and delays?

If you haven't started on those resolutions yet, today’s the day. I wish you great success in the New Year!