New Year's Resolutions That Stick!

y the time you've read this, NewYear's and its tradition of takingstock of our lives and setting newgoals will have come and gone. Amajority of adults, 61 per cent,

make resolutions but only five to 15 per centactually see them through to completion.Roadblocks such as lack of time or money areseen as reasons to abandon goals. Or energyand commitment wane as time goes on.

Since 45 per cent give up goals by the end ofthe month, February can become the time totake steps to make our resolutions stick. I'vegathered five of the best goal-sticking tipsbased on research from goal experts, inter-views with lawyers, and through my own ex-periences as a business/personal coach. Theseare intended to help you get back on the trackof living out what you most desire.

1. Articulate the inspiration and dreamsbehind your goal.

Goals are most meaningful when linked tovalues and dreams. Especially if it's a goalthat's been hard for you to achieve, investingtime articulating the deeper meaning that goalwould serve helps fuel the motivation youneed to sustain the hard times. Ask yourselfthree times:What's important to me about thatgoal? "The starting point of all achievement isdesire." Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

2. Set bite-sized, concrete goals.

Abandoned resolutions are often from at-tempting to achieve too much at once. A sureway to stay motivated is to set tiny goals andcelebrate their achievement. This focuses youon how far you've come versus how far youstill have to go and new energy is generated topropel you. Commit to taking and recording500actions towards a big goal this year - thatis, two actions per workday. It's a gimmick,but intended to spark easy action and results."Inertia tends to go in the direction you're go-ing." BillO'Hanlon, Do One Thing Different

February 2003

3. Record your goals and your progress.

Writing down your goals and learning fromyour life is a powerful way to achieve goals.Note successes. Record what obstacles or hin-dering beliefs you see and how you might beable to look at them differently. Describe whatbenefits you receive by keeping the status quoand how you can meet those needs in a differ-ent way. Schedule in time to journal. "A jour-nal is the single most powerful tool you canuse to achieve your objectives." Dennis Waite-ly, The New Dynamics of Goal-Setting

4. Commit to a support structure.

Since there are many obstacles along the waywhen we set a goal, having someone to remindyou of your goal, which may be important butnot urgent, can often be the key for finally re-alizing your desire. This partnership makesthe process fun and collaborative. Pick some-one who is as excited about reaching the goal,as you are - a friend, peer group or coach. Ifyou have the resources, investing money alsoboosts your commitment to "show up" - whenyou put your own dollars down, you up thechances of sticking with it. "Nothing worthdoing is worth doing alone." Anonymous

5. Forgive yourself-get back on the wagon.

When we slip, we tend to see this as an omenof eventual failure. The CBC radio program"Ideas" cited a study of genius, which showedthe one common trait was perseverance - theyendured in the face of mistakes and failures.We all fail at some goals, but not because wedon't want them or can't achieve them. Howwe see "failure" is key. Looking at mistakes asexperiments and feedback on getting to yourgoal is more empowering than failure. Alwayskeep one eye on your dream. "Above all, havedreams." Canadian Olympian Jody Holden

So, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and seta small goal. Then go do it. Action creates mo-mentum, which moves you back on a path torealizing what you most desire! •

Julia Menard

Julia Menard is a business/

personal coach specializing

in assertive negotiation. life

balance and transitions. She

can be contacted at

julia@makeandbelieve.com.

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