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How to Turn Resolutions into Routines for Long-Term Success

With the new year approaching, many of us decide to make resolutions. Considering our personal and professional goals, we think we might better meet our objectives by starting fresh on January 1. Yet, it’s easy to resolve to make changes, but much more difficult to sustain the effort. This article shares strategies to help make resolutions stick by turning our big ideas into routine, tangible actions. Resolutions don’t last — for many of us Research into resolutions suggests only 9 percent of Americans carry through. Some 23 percent of people only make it a week; 43 percent quit within a month. This, obviously, defeats the purpose of setting a resolution. Still, before we get to the how-to, let’s first look at what psychology tells us about why resolutions fail (see what we did there, you didn’t fail…the resolution did). Common reasons include the following: Setting a goal because it is December 31 isn’t the greatest motivation. It’s an arbitrary day on the calendar. It doesn’t necessarily indicate you actually feel a need to make a change or pursue an objective. People set goals that are too big. Instead of picking something small and straightforward you might pick something broad and sweeping. You might make the resolution to “eat healthier” or “be more collaborative at work.” But those are pretty abstract ideas. Your goals should shift as you evolve and grow. Over the course of a year your circumstances and priorities may change. A year-long resolution doesn’t offer flexibility. You set […]