Broken your New Year’s Resolution? Here’s how to get back on track….
In this Bookhugger exclusive, the authors of You Need This Book to Get What You Want, Mark Palmer and Scott Solder, help you get your New Year’s Resolutions back on course.
You probably know from bitter experience that New Year’s resolutions aren’t always what they’re cracked up to be. How long do they usually last? A month? Two months? No more. Before you know it, it’s December again and you’re telling yourself ‘it’s going to be different next year’. Again.
It’s the middle of January now, and it’s probably time to look again at what you promised yourself at the beginning of the year – so you can get back on track if you need to.
If you’ve wavered – or are wavering, don’t worry. Just set a new date in the near future to start afresh with your resolution – like, for example, next Monday. Write it in your diary.
Now follow these steps – from Mark Palmer and Scott Solder, authors of You Need This Book (to get what you want) – to make sure you succeed where so many others fail.
Think of your New Year’s resolution – do you really want it?
Seems like a strange question – but there’s often a downside to a resolution which can stop you from sticking to it. If there’s a downside to yours – are you prepared to accept that downside in return for all the benefits? If not, you need to adjust your resolution so the downside – if any – is more acceptable to you. For example: if you decide to go the pub less often, the downside may be that your social life might suffer. If you’re not willing to accept that, make sure you build other ways of socialising into your life. Invite people over or join a new club, for example.
State your resolution as a positive – not a negative
Make sure your resolution is about what you do want, rather than what you don’t want. Here’s why. Try not to think about chocolate. Try to think about not eating chocolate. What are you thinking about? Chocolate. You can’t not think about something. So you need to think about what you do want instead. Like more fruit, more exercise, more healthy food. The same goes for not being lazy, or not smoking. If there’s a ‘not’ in the wording of your resolution – take it out and flip it into a positive. Like being more active or living a healthy life breathing clean air.
Be specific
When, where and how will you be living up to your resolution? So, if you’re exercising more – where will you be? What time in the day? Which days of the week? Which exercise will you be doing? Who with? Think about it in detail so you can vividly see yourself doing this in your mind’s eye.
Focus on the upside of sticking to it
How will you feel once you’ve stuck to this for three months? And after six months? How will you feel this time next year?
Think about the downside of not sticking to it
What will happen if you don’t stick to it? How will you feel after three months? And after six months? How will you feel this time next year?
Make an action plan
What’s the first step you’re going to take to make this resolution happen? And when? And where? Be specific. Now write down the second step and the third.
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