Well, with the holidays swiftly behind us and the first week of school in session, many of us are knee-deep in our new year’s resolutions. Sadly, a lot of us won’t manage to keep them. But don’t fret: if you’re one of those people, you’re in good company.
The majority of people don’t keep their resolutions. It’s not because they’re abject failures or because they don’t have wax-on-wax-off endurance; it’s also not because they lack self-discipline. It probably has more to do with framing than anything else.
We humans are great at piling on the pressure. We start out with the best of intentions and then we just overwhelm ourselves.
Consider the word “intention” for a moment. What a great way to rephrase and rethink the idea of resolutions. Instead of “resolutions,” which is so final and unyielding, try using the word “intentions,” which is much more flexible. It isn’t that you want to give yourself an easy out, or that you don’t aim to accomplish the same goals, because they’re probably great goals, like eating better, working out more, and studying harder. You just want to have the ability to stretch them or give them a little tweak.
The next step will be to consider each one of your intentions for the upcoming year in a realistic light; the best way to do that is to plan it out. Ugh, I know: this is sounding like a school paper and you’re just not ready for that yet. I hear you, but trust me, just three short sentences will get the job done.
Write down why this is your intention, and write down one way you will accomplish this. Be very specific: if you want to eat better this year, write down “I will eat five servings of fruit and veggies three times per week.” The more specific you are, the more likely you are to do it.
Finally, record the time you are going to revisit this intention to see where things are at. It could be once a month, once a week, or daily—whatever works best for you. The key is not to look at it as a deadline, but rather as a check-in point. You’re just taking stock of what’s working and what isn’t. That way you can make a new plan to address any obstacles that have come up.
Easy peasy.