What’s Going to Be Different This Year? Beating The Odds Against Quitting Your New Year's Resolutions

By Jackie White

Hello to the New Year! We have been anxiously looking forward to turning the page on last year! Now that we have been so excited to get out of 2020, I am going to ask you one simple question: What’s going to be different this year? I mean, each year we all profess that this will be the year that we change. We claim that we will be dropping bad habits and are going to be a new and improved version of ourselves! Heck, 2020 taught us a lot about what’s important in life, so we should be able to get it right this year, right?

Yes! I haven’t lost you yet, we still have such excitement and motivation to do better! I love it, but we need a strategy. Strategies are not one size fits all as it pertains to improving ourselves. Sometimes it’s just a different tack or perspective that can make all the difference in the outcome and this is the year for new outcomes!

 Ok, so bring your motivated little butt over here, and let’s look at a few different ways we can turn this new year into one we can be proud of. I invite you to try on a few of the approaches and see which ones resonate the best with you.

The Strategies to Success 

Traditional Goal Setting: This is where you set a goal by identifying and writing down the actionable steps along with an associated timeline. Goals can be best described as the results that you are looking for. It’s the result of something that you’ve put together based on your thought process. This is good for Type A personalities, those who are very organized or business-minded.

Visualization: Visualizing goals is done by actually visualizing yourself achieving your desires in life. This works because the brain is wired, actually develops neural pathways to believe what we visualize to be true. It primes the body to perform in the ways our brains have visualized. This works best for those who can suspend logic restraints and are willing to spend the time visualizing a new way. Note that taking action is also required to make this a viable strategy for yourself.

Vision Boards: This is another way to add another layer to visualization. A vision board provides imagery to review daily. To make a vision board, you can cut out pictures of the things or words that help you to visualize what you want to achieve. Take all the cutouts and create a collage and then take regular action. This works well for creative or visual types.

Setting Intentions: Unlike goal setting, setting intentions is about the here and now, not the future. Think of setting intentions like how much energy you are willing to put in and the motivation and willingness to do something. This approach may be a softer way to step into achieving goals. This works best for people who are more emotionally motivated.

Word of the Year: The word or phrase of the year is a way to put a theme to your life experience at that time. For example, if you feel your life is lacking joy, then joy could be your word. You would then try to squeeze in joy in most of what you do. This can be very creative where you make a sign or a piece of jewelry with your word on it. This is a great supplement to keeping you aligned on an overall goal.

12 Week Year: There is a book called the “12 Week Year” where a year is condensed into 12 weeks of hyper-accelerated steps that get results fast. This approach can be a bit intense but yields fast results. Go to www.12weekyear.com for more on this approach. This works best for dedicated people who are desiring quick returns.

Setting up Systems to Support Habits: The key to achieving goals is to create habits that become rote after a certain period of time. Habits depend on systems that support actions that will result in creating a habit that achieves the goals set forth. Check out James Clear’s “Atomic Habits” or Brendon Burchard’s “High Performance Habits" for more information. This approach is universally helpful.

Discipline: Toughing it out can work for some. A tight schedule for going after a goal can be rewarding. Programs like 75 Hard can help lay the foundation for disciplining yourself successfully. This is for those who work best under hard set rules.

Day by Day, Step by Step: Taking baby steps every day is a way of thinking, a way of processing information that enables you to make the daily choices that will lead you to the success and happiness you desire. Check out “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson to see how incremental progress adds up over time. This is another good for everyone approach.

Manifestation Journal: Manifesting is somewhat like visualization but it adds a level of gratitude. Just as you train your brain to believe that you have already achieved your goal, you can add in gratitude as a way to thank the Universe for allowing things to be done in your favor. An example would be to say, thank you for continued health if your goal is to get healthier or lose weight. You can write your manifestations in a journal to keep them better organized. This works well for those who believe in a Higher Power.

There you have it, 10 ways to get it done this year! I have faith in you that you can make it happen. Believe in yourself too and you will be successful!

Cheers to the new year!
Cheers to the new and improved you!

Shine On!