How to Stay Motivated for Those Pesky New Year Resolutions
Three Mistakes We Should All Try to Avoid
When we set a goal for ourselves, it’s usually when we’re overcome with a flush of optimism and enthusiasm. Sometimes this hits at 3 am when you finally decide ‘you know what, I am going for a run tomorrow’, sometimes it happens whilst taking a long hot shower when you finally realize you hate the job you’re getting ready for and you vow to quit.
But, for a lot of people around the world, we create a resolution on the 31st of December, determined to become a better version of ourselves.
But, alas, a few months later you’re probably still in the same workplace rut or looking at a pair of trainers that started as good intentions. Through researching motivation in the workplace, I found techniques that we can borrow from the school of Organisational Psychology to maintain motivation for 2021.
It’s a good start to set to a New Year Resolution or a goal. But it isn’t enough. To simply say, every other day I’m going to wake up early and write in my journal, drink lemon and ginger tea, and meditate for 5 minutes.
Although this morning routine sounds simple, I’m sure everyone will agree that it isn’t easy to give up your morning coffee or to stop yourself scrolling through social media. And 5 minutes meditating? I would rather have the sleep thank you.
So we need more. We need a robust plan of action. The most popular technique used to maintain morale and motivation in the work-place is to set SMART goals.
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
Although this framework takes away from the romance of setting a New Year Resolution, if you’re serious about achieving something, then it isn’t an awful idea. Separating your resolution into smaller goals makes them more achievable. And with achievement, comes the motivation to continue — because why would you stop doing something that you’re good at?
This won’t be the first blog, nor the last, to mention SMART goals. But for this article, it’s good to keep this powerful tool in mind as we explore three goal-setting mistakes we should avoid.
Common Mistake and How to Avoid Them
1. Unrealistic Goals
By all means, unleash your imagination and wildest ambitions. Put any self-criticisms or reservations to the side and dream the biggest dream possible. Your resolution might be to run a marathon and you can do it. Just not straight-away.
Don’t sign-up for the race in February and be disappointed when you can’t complete it. Turn your big resolution into achievable miniature goals. By February, you should be in a running club. By March maybe sign up for a 5km relay race, come June you’re up to 10km and by November you can push yourself to the limit and run your marathon.
SMART goals will help in strategizing your bigger resolution, and as each goal is accomplished, your motivation to continue will sky-rocket.
2. Not Appreciating Failure
We all fail. It’s a fact. You may sometimes feel like you’re the only one, but you’re not. Your failures are what define your character. Are you someone who perseveres in the face of hardship? Do you stop to think of the path of least resistance? Or do you just stop?
As cliché as it is, we do learn from our failures. We learn about ourselves. Maintaining motivation amidst failure is challenging, and for me, the best way to overcome it is to become my own motivational coach. I think about what I would tell a friend. How I would convince that person to strive and push through any limitations.
So, don’t be too upset if you fail to achieve something. Maybe the 5km race was a kilometer too far. Just remain calm, take note of what went wrong, give yourself a pep talk, and try again. It’s important to keep being accountable for your accomplishments by measuring your progress and this leads us to the next mistake…
3) Not Reviewing Progress
It takes time to accomplish a goal and sometimes you may feel that you aren’t making any progress. But you are! At regular intervals, you should take stock of everything you have achieved. Celebrate when you’re able to add an extra kilometer to your daily run, even if next week you can’t run that far. We have off days and on days. It’s important to celebrate when you can but to also be kind to yourself when things seem harder.
You should also realize that your goal may have changed. Maybe you don’t have the time to run 7 km every day. That’s okay, the fact that you have gotten up with the intentions to do so, put on your running gear, made it out the door, and just had a pleasant stroll. Sometimes, that’s enough.
Goals are never set in stone, so don’t be afraid to amend them. Don’t think of it as a failure, think of it as a negotiation.
The Takeaway
Resolutions are all well and good but they’re demanding and often accompanied by a lot of guilt. We shouldn’t put so much pressure on this one resolution set once a year. Regular intervals of reviewing your progress and confronting your failure can help you to realize your goals.
If you find yourself slipping, don’t wait until 2022 to start again. Maybe use another holiday to your advantage, like Chinese New Year on February 12th or Islamic New Year on August 9th — or even St Paddy’s day on March 17th.
Use holiday markings in the calendar for yourself and re-evaluate what’s happening. I should have known by St Paddy’s day that I wouldn’t be running a marathon. I quickly learned that I hate running and even though I had good intentions, I simply didn’t want to run one in the end.
I took control, took initiative, and by Islamic New Year, I determined that my new resolution would be to complete an online teaching course and begin teaching English by January. And here we are, 4 days late but I did it.
Thanks for reading x
References
Ackerman, C. (2020, 12 11). Self — Motivation. Retrieved from Positive Psychology: https://positivepsychology.com/self-motivation/
Mind Tools. (2020). Eight Common Goal-Setting Mistakes. Retrieved from Mind Tools: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/goal-setting-mistakes.htm
