Supporting Yourself and Your Coaching Clients with New Year’s Resolutions, Focus and Intentions

A new study has found that about two-thirds 64% of people abandon their New Year's resolutions within a month. Likewise, more than half of the subjects had made the same resolutions, or similar ones, the year before. The researchers also classified almost two-thirds of the resolutions (64%) as too vague, for example “get fit.”

How do we make sure that our new year's resolutions and goals actually stick? 

As a Psychology and Neuroscience expert, I do believe that in order for us to be more likely to stick to our goals, we need to ensure we set more ‘specific resolutions’, but more importantly we have to also dig a little bit deeper… 

Let's be honest, every year we see the posts on social media, the articles in the magazines and hear this idea of having New Year's resolutions, and we often think, maybe this is going to be the year we've finally go and do that ‘thing’ we want to do!

I like to see resolutions, as our focus and our intentions, when we are specific and approach them as if they are possible rather than an unrealistic ideal; we can actually enable these to work for us, not against us, and we then feel more aligned with what we want to create.

Resolutions and ‘resolution disappointment’ may come up in your coaching sessions through January and February. I like to say, when setting resolutions - instead of focusing on ‘the doing’ - focus on how you want to be… 

Resolutions focus on ‘the do/doing’ and the behaviours. I want you to turn it around and go deeper - lasting change doesn’t happen with behavioural change; because underpinning that behaviour we have our; values, beliefs, thoughts, feelings, emotions… so, if we don’t change at that deeper level, then the foundations of that change are not solid or sturdy. 

Here are some questions you can run through - Ask yourself; How do I want to be this year? How do I want to show up in the world? What do I want to be thinking? What do I want that inner dialogue to be saying? What do I want to be feeling? *I’d even recommend writing these down… 

Then, dig deep and lean in and ask yourself - What is the reason and purpose for me to do this resolution? 

Then give yourself permission to build it up from there, painting the picture of what is right for you and how you can make this goal a priority.

Remember, success starts with you - it’s an inside job! 

*Study: “Self-regulatory goal motivational processes in sustained New Year resolution pursuit and mental wellbeing”

Source: https://www.psychnewsdaily.com/most-abandon-new-years-resolutions-in-month/