“Quitter’s day”. It’s the day science says many of us give up on those well-meant resolutions made so sincerely just over two weeks prior.
Quitter’s day is officially designated as the second Friday in January when our well-intentioned aspirations of improved fitness, meditation or and better eating (new year, new me…) often get punted for regression into our “old” patterns. The official day designation comes from studies done on fitness app usage patterns.
Despite where you are with resolutions, intentions, aspirations, goals, there are ways to make the good intentions last longer.
Think small
Break goals into small, manageable steps, and explore how these intertwine with habits, wellbeing and self-compassion.
These are what you should be doing to make your goals enjoyable and meaningful to work towards. Consider what areas of your life could use some change. In order to create more life satisfaction, it is useful to work towards goals in areas that may be neglected.
Stay consistent
Approach goals slowly and sustainably. Break down all of the steps in what you want to achieve and make it so that it will be easy to do daily to continue to build momentum.
The SMART framework is an approach that ensures goals are well-defined and achievable:
- Specific – Clearly define the goal. It should answer the five Ws: who, what, when, where, and why. This eliminates ambiguity and provides a clear target.
- Measurable – Get clear on how are will track your goal. Set criteria to track progress, such as deadlines or quantifiable targets.
- Achievable – Goals need to be realistic, to help avoid failure.
- Relevant – Your goals should align with personal interests, priorities, and values. Relevance keeps you invested and motivated because the goal matters.
- Timely – A goal without a deadline makes it difficult to identify success or failure.
Habits that stick
Setting a goal is one thing, sticking to it is another.
After you have a goal, work backwards. This is the stage where working with a coach is useful. Think about behaviors and strategies that will get you closer to your goal in small, attainable ways. It’s also important to consider behaviors you WANT to do, not that you feel you SHOULD do.
Time
While new habits do take time to form, and the results are not immediately recognized, it’s important to reflect on exactly what you are doing each day in working towards your longer-term aspiration. What you are striving for is to make the new behavior become automatic instead of your having to think about it.
Anchors
One tip based on the Tiny Habits methodology is the pair the new habit you want to build with an existing habit. It’s as simple as ABC. A is for the anchor moment of the pre-existing habit. This could be something as mundane as brushing your teeth. B stands for the new behavior you want to develop. And C is the celebration – how you feel – about the action you just did in light of the person you see yourself becoming. The recipe is like this: After I brush my teeth, I will do 10 counter-top push-ups. Then I will celebrate with a big smile because I am the kind of person who looks after my health.
Take time to reflect
- Know your limits and boundaries
- Reflect on if it’s working or not
- Hold self-compassion in this time time for yourself
- Speak to yourself with positive words like a kind friend would