My New Year's Resolution Is....

Kayla George
Jan 12, 2017
3 min read

So. we're 12 days into the new year. How are you loving it? I am totally loving it. New challenges, new concepts, new goals. Speaking of goals, do you have any? I do. I made a list and put it on my closet. I am trying to do 50 new things this year. Some of them include:

Write a book

Come out with an album

Go to various conferences

Say thank you every day

Be more intentional

To name a few. Sometimes I'll be right in the middle of my school work and a new goal will pop into my head. I'll run to my room so I can jot it down on my list.

I absolutely love this picture. It's a great resolution to have. However, keeping your new resolution is hard. Here are the top ten new year's resolutions.

1. Lose weight/ healthier eating

2. Life/ self improvements

3. Better financial decisions

4. Quit smoking

5. Do more exciting things

6. Spend more time with family/ close friends

7. Work out more often

8. Learn something new on my own

9. Do more good deeds for others

10. Find the love of my life

Any of these sound familiar? Have you made any of these resolutions?

Here are some stats for New Year's resolutions in America.

-80% of Americans have no goals.

-16% of Americans have goals but don't write them down.

-3% of Americans have goals, wrote them down, but end up losing them.

-1% of Americans have goals, write them down, and put it in a place where they can look at them daily. These are the people that end up succeeding.

If you write your goals down, your chances of success will grow 98%. Isn't that amazing? Feeling the urge yet to go and write down some goals?

However, there are a few things you need to know before you start writing your goals down.

When you write your goals, make them stretchy but attainable.

What do I mean when I say "stretchy but attainable"? When you write down your goals, they should make you think, "Could I really do that? Is that really possible?" However, you don't want to make them too far-fetched, such as "Become a billionaire by the end of the year." Unless you make an incredible amount of money and have an enormous saving plan, the chances of that plan actually succeeding are rather small. I suggest doing something that you know you can do.

Here's another thing you should keep in mind when writing goals.

Give your goals deadlines.

Why is doing this important? If you just randomly write down, "Start a business" but don't have a deadline, that will push procrastination and you will only feel the urge to actually start a business when it is absolutely necessary.

This is another important thing to remember.

Be specific.

What is the benefit of being specific? Well, vague goals produce vague results. If you make the goal "Be healthier" but don't specify how, how is anything going to happen? Yes, maybe you cut out sweets variously and occasionally stopping by the gym. But you're not going to get the results you were hoping for. When you write down your goals, you should ask yourself, "Well, how am I going to achieve this goal?" If you want to be healthier, you could be more specific by writing, "Go to the gym three times a week." "Only eat one sweet per week." "Limit carb intake." These are just some examples.

Remember, if you don't have goals, you don't have a direction. Your goals will propel you in the right direction you want to go in the new year. If you don't have goals, you won't win in life. You will just start the next year the same way you started this year. Your goals have to show you when you're winning.