Renew You

After the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, and the celebration has come to a close, it’s time for the annual New Year’s resolution to kick in. Whether it is to lose weight, save money or spend more time with family, keeping the resolution alive throughout the year can be easier said than done.

Taking some crucial steps to maintaining your goals throughout the year can help.

Joshua Zuchter, certified business and life coach in Toronto, says that although New Year’s resolutions tend to be easily broken, they are still worth a try.

“I’m a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, although what I find these days is that because so many people have made resolutions [in the past] and either didn’t see results or didn’t stay committed to them, they feel that New Year’s resolutions are faulty or bogus,” he says. “A New Year’s resolution is a New Year’s goal… It’s no different from setting goals, except it starts from January 1st of the new year and goes through to the end of the year.”

Creating New Year’s resolutions can be fun — having an individual goal at the start of a new year might compel people to achieve it to improve their wellbeing.

“I have many people whom, when they begin thinking about the new year and what they want to achieve, it has them starting to think about what they really want,” says Zuchter. “Around the end of December, we typically review what happened in the past year… I think that’s a catalyst for people, to start to work on themselves. The catch is being able to stick to it and not just start it.”

To help people stick to their resolutions, Zuchter shares the seven steps for success with maintaining resolutions year-round.

Research and Plan
Research is helpful with knowing what the resolution entails. Before committing to something for an entire year, he says it can be helpful to learn more about it.

“Some people set resolutions that are outlandish and may be impossible. When you do that, of course you’re going to be upset that you didn’t achieve it,” he says.

Knowing more about the resolution can help prevent making unrealistic goals. For example, one of the most popular resolutions of losing weight for the new year requires planning.

To begin, he says people should make healthy goals. Making a resolution of losing 100 lbs. can be out of reach for most people. Starting with 30 lbs. and working upwards is a healthier and more practical approach.

To help, research such as finding out one’s body mass index (BMI) and planning, by instilling healthy eating habits, can help make the goal easier to achieve.

“I used to work at a gym so I know this first-hand, that there would be a huge influx of people into gyms around December and January and by about April, you would see about half of those people showing up,” says Zuchter. “A part of it is that people are expecting huge results in a short period of time — immediate gratification — and when you don’t see it, you tend to become doubtful and feel bad that you haven’t achieved it so people just give up.”

Planning for healthier substitutes is crucial to one’s success. For people trying to quit smoking, another common New Year’s resolution, he says planning can help.

“One of my mentors says, ‘If you’re failing to plan, you’re planning to fail,’” he says. “You want to plan by either reducing or eliminating. Some people use alternatives [such as] the gum or patch. You want to plan by having those things on hand in case you get a craving. If you haven’t planned and you don’t have those things on hand, you’re more likely going to fall off the wagon.”

Prioritize and Commit
Prioritizing the resolution is another key to its success. Zuchter says it can be as simple as making it the first thing you do in the morning.

“If you want to become fluent in a new language, which is kind of fun, ideally you would practice that language first thing in the morning. That way you get it out of the way. It’s not left to the end of the day when you don’t have the energy to do it,” he says.

Another example would be for losing weight. “The best thing people can do is to exercise in the morning; it’s also best to do that anyway but to continue achieving that resolution or that goal.“

Or, if someone is a business owner, explains Zuchter, and they want to enhance their business, they should do certain things in the morning, before anything else.

“That’s key, making your resolutions a priority each day… It’s not so much because it’s the morning but it’s because you’re getting it done, first thing.”

But sometimes, it’s not always about trying to do something such as saving more money or spend more time with family. For resolutions such as quitting smoking or losing weight, Zuchter suggests taking a tougher approach. He says it is important to visualize how it will work to achieve the resolution.

“Seeing yourself going through the act of following through with it… seeing yourself throughout the day without that thing that you’re trying to eliminate can be very effective for you in being more ready to do it,” he says.

Committing to the resolution is another key component. Zuchter says taking ownership for one’s resolution can help with achieving success.

“Some people say they want to achieve this and they’re not really committed to it and they blame their resolution for it. It’s not really the resolution where the issue is. It’s the individual that has fallen through on it,” he says. “Being really committed to what you’re wanting is important.”

Accountability
Sometimes, people choose to hide their resolutions from others, just in case they fail at achieving them. But in order to be successful, Zuchter recommends finding someone to share them with.

“It’s a great way to stay committed to achieving resolutions — having support and being accountable. So if you can be accountable to a coach or a trainer, that’s definitely going to be more effective than if you’re just accountable to yourself. We easily use excuses for ourselves.”

To aid in achieving resolutions, some people find it helpful to write their progress down. By doing this, it helps people become more accountable for their results.

Zuchter says it can be beneficial to find people who share the same common goal and commit to working as a team to achieve it. Working with support groups can help with creating the collective mindset to succeed.

Another benefit of working as a team is that the passion for achieving the goal becomes even stronger.

“You are more likely to achieve a goal that you are excited about than one that is a ‘have-to’ or a ‘should,’” he says. “If you’re passionate about something, you’re likely going to continue doing it for the long term. Being able to shift your mindset around whatever your resolution is, is very important. Instead of having to do something, become excited about that thing and it will carry you through.”

There are also times when the resolution itself can affect more than one person. When deciding to improve a relationship or save money collectively for the new year, it can be one’s spouse that can provide the biggest support of all.

“It’s beautiful when you can get together with your partner and create some kind of focus because then there’s two of you working towards it… Improving your romantic relationship or improving your family is a core issue. The stronger our relationships are, the more fulfilling our life is going to be.”

Be Specific and Realistic
Narrowing down the specifics of a resolution can be the key to achieving it.

Zuchter says it is important to be specific on how the goal will come to fruition. For a resolution to spend more time with family, deciding how much time a day or week will be set out to help achieve this goal is crucial.

“Creating a goal that is specific is much better than creating a non-specific goal. It’s measurable and targeted. The more specific you are, typically the more better off you are,” he says.

However, he also emphasizes it is important to not be too hard on ourselves if the original goal is not met. Using resolutions as a guideline can be important, to help lead us in the right direction.

“If you fall off the wagon, in achieving your resolutions, jump right back on. Don’t beat yourself up for falling off,” he says. “What most people do, if they find that if they have had two or three days that they haven’t been following through with it, they simply throw in the towel. That’s not necessary. Be a little gentler with yourself and jump back on the next day and start again. That is a big key: If you fall off, get back on.”

It is also important to be realistic when setting resolutions. Some people decide on one resolution to try to achieve in the new year, while others have a list of things they wish to accomplish. Zuchter recommends setting one to three resolutions, to help create a balance.

The benefit of New Year’s resolutions is the ability they have to improve one’s willpower. The determination that is built up when striving to achieve a goal can assist in many components of one’s life — physically, emotionally and financially. They can also help strengthen family and romantic relationships.

Zuchter says it is important to create goals that are attainable, but are still pushing us forward.

“If you rarely reach your resolution — each year you have set resolutions, and you’re not achieving them — it’s possible that they are maybe too high. Maybe reduce them a little bit. If you’re reaching them every year, you need to set higher goals. It depends on how much of an achiever a person is and how disciplined they are,” he says. “When you don’t want to follow through on something, that’s probably the time when you need to the most. If you’ve developed [discipline], it will help you to get through.”

Although all resolutions are different, Zuchter says it is all about having fun.

“They are meant to be enjoyable, fun, creative and dynamic. You don’t want to make them something that makes them so impossible that you hate trying to achieve them everyday. Make them fun and enjoyable. That would be the key to success for resolutions.”

The midnight countdown may be over, but the countdown to a new you has only just begun. •

 

STARTING OVER

GETTING NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS BACK ON TRACK

Although some people may have already given up on their New Year’s resolution, or have decided to not make any for this year, Zuchter shares some key tips for getting back on track.

He says it can be a good idea to create monthly resolutions, rather than full-year resolutions.

“Take some time to decide what you want a focus to be for each month and make that month all about that focus. [For example], January is going to be about physical body and my health. February is going to be a month where I work on my relationship and my partner. March is going to be a month where I work on doing something different I’ve never done before, [for example], I’m going to take dance lessons,” he suggests. “It actually makes it a lot of fun. Some resolutions you will keep and others you will just have done for the month… It spices it up.”

Another suggestion he has is to create a New Year’s bucket list, compiling a to-do list of things such as travelling to a foreign country or learning a new hobby, and using the new year to achieve one or more goals from the list.

For people thinking it may be too late to get those resolutions in, Zuchter says that is not the case.

“You can use your birthday as the day to set your resolution if you don’t want to do it on or around New Year’s,” he says. “There’s no reason you can’t start it on your birthday or your religious new year.”

Whether it’s getting back on track with broken New Year’s resolutions or starting new ones, these goals can be created and achieved year-round.