'Tis The Time For Goal Setting: How To Actually Make Your New Year's Resolutions Work For You

Did you know that a full 45 percent of Americans are in the habit of making New Year's resolutions? Most people decide they would really like to lose weight, become more organized, spend less and save more, or enjoy life as much as possible. Staying or becoming fit and healthy, learning something new, quitting smoking, and helping others achieve their dreams are also popular goals, along with falling in love and spending more time with family. 

Where does the idea of making New Year's resolutions even come from? The tradition dates back as far as the ancient Babylonians, who promised their gods that they would pay off their debts and returned borrowed items to their owners each year. Similar practices have existed in numerous different cultures since that time and to this day. The start of a new year naturally creates a clean break in many people's minds, making it the perfect time to decide to implement serious changes.

Why New Year's Resolutions Fail

New Year's resolutions fail for the same reason any new habit you believe you need to adopt fails — making big changes in your life is hard. When you are making that list of resolutions, you probably imagine how much better your life would be if you could accomplish your goals, without actually taking the time to reflect on the difficulty of the process you will need to go through to get there. People who are truly committed to breaking an existing habit — the habit of making New Year's resolutions they never accomplish — can take some immensely powerful steps to set themselves up for success.

What are the mistakes that cause New Year's resolutions to fail? Let's take a look:

• Setting too many goals. Breaking even one bad habit or creating one new good one is hard, never mind 10. People who think they can radically turn their lives around all in one go are likely to fail.
• Not being prepared. Sure, some people can make a bold decision to stop smoking or quit eating junk food and never look back. If you have tried and failed in the past, however, it is not particularly likely that you will succeed this time. Deciding to make a big change without reflecting deeply on what caused the bad habit or what will allow you to create a good habit is setting yourself up for disappointment.

READ 8 Ways To Actually Stick To Your New Year's Resolution

• Looking only at the destination, not the journey. If your goal is weight loss, don't make "losing 40 pounds this year" your aim. Instead, decide that two pounds a week is a reasonable goal, decide to commit to taking a healthy packed lunch to work three days a week, or decide to exercise twice a week. Smaller goals are much more doable than monster goals, and will prevent you from becoming overwhelmed and giving up. 

Why Do We Benefit From Goal-Setting, Anyway?

Yes, we just advocated the idea of only focusing on one or two New Year's resolutions rather than making a whole list and expecting to attain success in all the areas you deem worthy candidates for improvement. Success is more easily achieved if we have a plan, a focus, and our two feet firmly on the ground of realism. That doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't think big, however. Creating your very own "life manifesto" could get you into the mindset of incorporating constant change and improvement into your life, and can help you find motivation when you are feeling overwhelmed or run down. 

What Kind Of Goal Setting Works?

First off, research shows that you are much more likely to reap the benefits of concrete and measurable goals ("lose 10 lbs", "finish that algebra course") than of vague goals ("be happy", "do your best"). While brainstorming your goals on a large bit of scrap paper is awesome, you will boost your odds of success by narrowing your goals down to very specific points, mini-goals which you can celebrate achieving along the way. That touches on another fact, which is that goals you can reach in the short-term are more likely to be motivating to you than goals you can only accomplish after a very long period of time.

Another big help is accountability. If you tell everyone what you are planning to do and actively ask them to help you reach your goals, you are more likely to make it happen. Be accountable to yourself too, by committing to keeping a journal in which you list both your successes and your challenges.

Remember, one slip-up doesn't mean you are a total failure — it just means you are human. Before you start on your new path, accept that slip-ups may be part of the game and commit to not letting them push you off course completely, while simultaneously trying your best not to let them happen in the first place.

Finally, the goals you set shouldn't be too hard to achieve, but they should not be too easy either. You don't get a sense of accomplishment if the goal you set for yourself was sub-standard. Walking to work every day for a month will give you more fulfillment than doing it once, to name an example.  

How Does Goal-Setting Benefit You?

Research is pretty clear: goal-setting can do a great deal to boost your motivation, and being more motivated means you are much more likely to be successful — both at reaching the goals you have set for yourself, and in general. Once people have strongly committed to achieving something, once they have, if you like, made a promise to themselves, they don't want to set themselves up for disappointment.

READ The New Psychology Of Keeping New Year's Resolutions

If you set goals for yourself that you are deeply committed to achieving, you will — scientific studies confirm — be more creative, more persistent, and more willing to take risks that make your dreams come true. You are also more likely to make your goals a priority in life, sacrificing other activities as needed. As you achieve the mini-goals you set for yourself, you will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment that encourages you to press on to your final goal with even more resolve.