How To Set New Year's Resolutions That Will ACTUALLY Stick

Transcript

How to set New Year's resolutions that are going to make you happier and more successful, and they're actually going to stick. 92% of New Year's resolutions do not last. And I want your resolution, I want your intention that you want for the New Year to stick. And I want you to be successful at keeping the new behavior. Whether it's adding something new into your life or removing something that isn't serving you. I'm going to give you the proven framework and tactics so that you are going to be successful at setting your New Year's resolutions, and having them stay with you throughout the year. If you set a New Year's resolution and it doesn't stick, then you're going to feel horrible about yourself. You're going to feel like you've failed. You're going to be demotivated and there's going to be a ripple effect to your mindset. And I want you to start off the year right, and I want your whole year to be awesome.

What you're going to do is you're going to choose one resolution. Maybe that resolution is to exercise more. Maybe that resolution is to get more sleep. Maybe that resolutions to spend more time with your kids or your spouse, doesn't matter what it is. Find one that you know is going to make you happier and commit to it. And then what you're going to do is you are going to put six physical reminders in your environment. What do I mean by physical reminders? So motivation is not enough. We need physical reminders to help us have behavior change, because behavior change is really difficult for humans. We are set in our ways, okay? But I know that you want to be successful at this. So you need to use physical reminders. So I'm going to give you six examples of ones that you can use.

The first is, you can put a reminder in your phone. Maybe you want to meditate every single day at 7:00 AM. That is going to be in your phone every single day. You then are going to have a Post-it on your bathroom mirror that says, "Meditate daily 7:00 AM." You then can have a third physical reminder, maybe on your coffee maker or somewhere else. If you go get tea or water in the morning, or like me, you love coffee, have a Post-it on your coffee machine that says, "Did you meditate today?" With a question mark, and maybe a little smiley face. You can then have someone in your environment, like your spouse or your child or your roommate, remind you verbally, "Did you meditate? How was your meditation? Hey, you want to meditate every single day." That's going to be another reminder in your physical environment, okay?

You might have a meditation pillow on the floor in your room or in your office. And that meditation pillow is going to remind you of your resolution of your intention that you want to meditate. All right? You might have something in your car. You might have a bracelet or something, if you go into your wallet daily, something there. Think about places and environments that you are around daily. And what can you put in your physical environment that can remind you of your New Year's resolution? And know that, it's going to take seven, eight, nine, 10, maybe 14 times before your resolution sticks. Before the behavior becomes a habit. So a lot of people will try something new and then it doesn't work, so they think, "Oh, I failed. I can't do that." No, no, no. You're a human being and behavior change is hard.

So you need to try again. Let's say you meditate for three days and then you don't do it for a few days. That's okay. Try again. Maybe the next time you'll meditate for four days and then maybe you stop. That's okay. Try again. Like I said, eight times, nine times, 10 times, 12 times. Now, if you attempt your resolution, let's say 15 different times, starting and stopping and it's not sticking. For some reason, it's not sticking even though you have all of your reminders and you're really focused on it and you keep trying, for some reason, it's not sticking, that's okay. I would choose a new resolution. Maybe this is going to be in March, choose a new resolution, have the six or seven physical reminders and try a new one. And maybe you're going to come back to that first one later on in the year. But don't give up on yourself and know the power of physical reminders.

And every single time you do it, every single time you have that bite size, micro accomplishment, your brain is going to get a shot of dopamine and dopamine feels great. So break it down into just little bite-size. Maybe it's not a 30 minute workout, maybe it's just three pushups, mini micro habits, and stick with your intention. Go to my website arrive@happy.com, there's a free mini happiness class, five little videos waiting for you if you want to go dive a little deeper and get some more topics that will help you be more successful in your career and successful in your life. If you like this video, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. There is a new video every single Friday at 10:00 AM Pacific that's going to serve you, both personally and professionally. And if you're a leader, it's going to help you be a stronger, more successful leader. So please subscribe and hope to see you right here next week at 10:00 AM.