Everyday makes resolutions but how many of us stick to them? I made a resolution over a decade ago that I have religiously stuck to no matter what, it was to stop making resolutions. However, the start of this year in 2015 I decided to break that resolution and ventured into evaluating what's most important in my life. The past few years have been a bit of a harsh one, financially, personally and health-wise so it was time to inaugurate a few changes I thought. As I was retrospectively looking back at the year that's been it filled me with joy, I have achieved every single goal, every single resolution and every single aim that I set forth for myself in the beginning of 2015. As the New Year begins to unfold, it begs to unravel what worked and what didn't this past year especially when it has been such a fruitful one.
I don't mean to sound pompous but when something works so perfectly I believe it needs to be shared. This might work for you or not but there's no harm in giving it a shot if 2015 has been a less than desirable one for you. There are just three overarching principles under which my resolutions rested and it's the same principles I will be taking forward in 2016 too.
Revisit in regular intervals:
All of us excitedly make lofty goals and resolutions in the beginning of the year but very few of us actually see it through to the end. In fact, do you even remember every single resolution you made in early 2015? Besides writing them down (this is a biggie, trust me) and looking at them often it's key to revisit them in regular intervals. Not just revisit them but I sit down every month and look at where I am with my goals, it helps realign them with the current situation. The most constant thing in life is change therefore having a goal or a resolution in the beginning of the year without reflecting and transforming their journey accordingly.
How do you revisit your resolutions? I love to write and have an unusual affinity towards stationary, it could be anything that takes your fancy but 'putting them out there into the real world' either by verbally talking to a good friend or introspecting with a pen and paper they're all equally beneficial.
Form mini goals:
The most common New Years' resolution is to lose weight, earn more money or something equally intimidating. We often tend to forget everything has tiny segments which are crucial to seeing it through. If the idea is to lose weight, maybe the resolution should be to train every Monday and Thursday or run every other evening, something small and concrete. Mini goals also give me the satisfaction of moving forwards much more quickly than big goals which can be demotivating thereby remaining seemingly unachievable.
How do you form mini goals? If I have to wait 12 whole months to see fruits of my labour, I'm bound to quit halfway but we're more inclined to stick with things that provide us with almost instant gratification and they are plenty of them. Revere engineering your goals is one amazing way to kickstart the New Year, it gives us a sense of accomplishment even before you've done anything about it whilst outlining a clear path.
"A goal without a plan is just a wish" - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Prioritise with intentions:
So you've got goals written down and formed into smaller goals but the most critical aspect which has made the biggest difference in keeping my motivations going has been intentionally prioritising the smaller goals to work on every single day. How do you prioritise from equally important goals? There's always achieving one goal that makes the next one a bit easier, or what brings you the most joy? Prioritising them gives a sense of having control over your own achievements and having conscious intentions reaffirms what's important on an everyday basis. Intentions are often the most ignored element in goal achieving path, if you aren't motivated from within there's not enough on the outside to help us get going.
How do you prioritise with intentions? Whether you want to start a business or lose weight, write down WHY it's important you achieve it. Most often we forget why our goals are important to us which makes it easy to deviate from our path but knowing why something is important to you personally helps you keep going even when it's no longer January but June or August or September.
That's it! Those are the three things I did differently this year which has made all the difference. What are some of your resolutions and how are you tackling them? Tweet @bhaesa
Bhavani Esapathi is the Founder of Chronically Driven within The Invisible Labs and regularly speaks around ideas on productivity, social innovation and digital culture.