5 Hacks To Stick With Your New Year Resolutions

With a new year comes new goals, new hopes, and new dreams. Often people set resolutions to help work towards these goals. With good intentions, many people fall short each year on reaching their resolutions. According to the 2020 New Plate Ipsos survey, 55% of respondents kept their New Year’s Resolution for less than a year, with 11% lasting at least six months, 14% lasting at least three months, 19% lasting at least one month, and 11% lasting less than a month.

There are many reasons these resolutions don’t quite stick, but some of the main reasons include: people not being ready to change their habits, having unrealistic goals, having too many resolutions, lack of planning, or having difficulty tracking progress. One way to combat these difficulties is to spend some extra time setting your goals to ensure you can reach your resolution! When setting goals, it’s important to ensure the goals are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. Set a SMART Goal! A resolution may be “I don’t want knee pain,” but with the SMART goal format, you can increase your odds at achieving that goal. Let’s take a look at how to build this general goal into a SMART one:

Specific – For your resolution, be specific on what you want to achieve. Add as much detail as you can and use action words like “I will” and “I can” versus “I hope” or “I want.”

• Example: I will manage my knee pain by going to Athletico Physical Therapy.

Measurable – When setting goals, you need a way to measure your progress. By seeing your progress, you’re more likely to stay motivated!

• Example: I will decrease my knee pain to a 1/10 on a 10-point scale

Achievable – Don’t set goals that are out of reach. If your goal or resolution is too big, you won’t have the drive to keep working towards it, because you will never see the light at the end of the tunnel.

• Example: If my knee pain has been a 9/10 for years, I may not have 0/10 pain in the next few weeks, but I could achieve 5/10.

Realistic – Having a realistic goal can go hand in hand with having an achievable goal. If our goal is too big or unrealistic, the likelihood of meeting that resolution decreases. Making goals realistic can help your success!

• Example: I will decrease my knee pain to 1/10 on a 10 point scale by going to Athletico Physical Therapy for 4 weeks.

Timely – Another great way to increase your chances at following through with your New Year resolution is to set a deadline. By making a timely goal, there’s an end in sight and you’ll stay more motivated. It establishes a sense of urgency.

• Example: By June 1st, I will decrease my knee pain to a 1/10 on a 10-point scale by going to Athletico Physical Therapy for 4 weeks.

Using the SMART format for your goals this year will help set you up for success, keep you motivated, and will promote self-discipline. Regardless of what your resolutions are this year, our team is here to help! If you need further assistance reaching your goals, contact our team by scheduling a free assessment.

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The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.

References:
1. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/new-years-resolutions-statistics/