Have you ever actually accomplished one of your New Year’s resolutions?
I haven't. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made it past January.
Maybe you are in the same boat. Well, then I say let's make 2018 different. Dorie Clark, in her LinkedIn Learning course on holding yourself accountable, outlined three simple, proven strategies for actually accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions.
Follow them – and make 2018 your year of transformation.
They are:
1. Recruit an accountability partner.
There’s likely someone else in your life that also made a New Year’s resolution. Recruit them to be your accountability partner.
“Having an accountability partner, someone you report back to on your successes and sometimes your failures, helps hold your feet to the fire and reminds you what you need to be doing,” Clark said.
Their goals do not need to be the same as yours. But, by reporting to them your progress and them doing the same to you, you increase the chances of both of you accomplishing your goals.
2. Publicly announce your New Year's resolution and your progress.
Journalist Brain Seltzer took this to the extreme for his New Year’s resolution of losing weight. To ensure he did it, he tweeted out every day what he ate and if he worked out or not.
Obviously, he was embarrassed when the report wasn’t good. So, it forced him to lose weight.
You don’t have to go that far. But telling your family, friends or co-workers about your resolution and your progress along the way increases your chances of accomplishing it – as it’s frankly embarrassing not to.
3. Reward yourself if and only you accomplish the New Year's resolution (or, at least, pieces of it).
Two things here – it doesn’t have to be at the end of your goal and it doesn’t have to be a huge reward.
For example, say your goal is to get in better shape. You can make a deal with yourself – after you work out, you can watch an episode of that TV show you can’t stop binging.
Even better? Tie the reward to the activity. So, perhaps your goal is to run more and you want to watch that show – you can run on the treadmill while you watch it.
“Anyone can set goals, but not everyone can achieve them,” Clark said in her course. “If you stack the deck in your favor by setting up the right systems for accountability, you can far surpass the competition.”
Want to learn more? Watch Clark’s full course, Holding Yourself Accountable. Or check out one of her other LinkedIn Learning courses:
Topics: Career success tips
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