On Resolutions and Goals

New Year, New Goals.

Same story different year. How can we make this year different, by making our goals actually stick?

We should try to be better this year than we were in the years past. We can always improve, no matter how good we are. No matter what age we are, there is something that we can do better. Some new personal goals we can set for ourselves.

The issue with setting yearly goals is that they are all too often abandoned within days or weeks of beginning. So how can we set better goals this year? And how can we stick to the goals that we set for ourselves?

Here are a few tips and tricks for setting better goals, and sticking to those goals once they are set.

Have an Accountability Partner

Set goals with a partner, a friend, a parent, or a coworker. Commit to a goal together and you are both more likely to finish the goal. When you are struggling through something with another by your side, you have someone to share in the pain with. When you are working towards your goals separately, and you don’t want to get up and put in the work that day, there will be an element of not wanting to let your partner down that will inspire you to put the work in.

Setting goals with an accountability partner will provide an extra push that both of you will need somewhere along the journey. Wanting to do it for and with your partner will help ensure that you stick to your goals and resolutions.

Use the Seinfeld Chain Method

The Seinfeld chain method was described to a young comedian who once asked Jerry Seinfeld what it takes to be a successful comedian. Jerry Seinfeld told him simply, “Write jokes every day”.

Jerry Seinfeld had a big calendar on his wall and every day that he wrote jokes he would put an X through the day. After a week he had a chain of 7 days in which he had written jokes. After a month he would have 30 X’s in his chain. The longer the chain got, the more he was inclined to not break the chain, thus inspiring him to stick to his goal of writing jokes every day.

Put simply, make goals and resolutions that you can measure each day. Then do it every day. Don’t break the chain.

Side note: there is a great app called Streaks that I’ve been using for some of the goals and habits I have wanted to form lately.

Write Your Goals Down, Repeatedly

Most people write their goals down on sticky notes or pads and place them in spots around their houses, cars, or offices so that they will see them.

In an episode of the Huberman Lab podcast with Dr. May Shankar, Andrew Huberman describes the neuroscience behind goal setting and achievement and dispels the myth that reading your goals or placing them around the house does not lead to results. What they found does lead to results is writing them down daily, getting a pad, and writing down exactly what you want to do each and every day.

Don’t just say you are going to do something. Get up and write down what you want to do. A simple step that takes almost no time at all, and that science has shown will lead to better results.

Focus on Small, Achievable Steps

When we set goals at the beginning of the year we tend to focus too much on the big picture. When we don’t see immediate “big picture” results we lose our motivation. We need to instead retrain our brains to focus on the smallest achievable steps.

Just one day at a time. Suppose you can go to the gym just today. Or eat healthy just today. You shrink the commitment to a much more achievable step.

Doing something for an entire year seems daunting, but if you break it down into daily victories it’s much easier to achieve.

This is the same philosophy that the Alcoholics Anonymous group uses. They don’t commit to a lifetime of sobriety. They commit to one day at a time. Getting through just one day. Breaking down their journey into the smallest achievable steps, letting the results compound over time, and letting the chain accrue.

Celebrate Your Victories

Lastly, it’s okay to celebrate victories along the way. Let yourself enjoy the process and give yourself a pat on the back when you make progress toward your goals.

Give yourself kudos when you get up and do the thing on the days when you have no motivation and lack energy.

Celebrating the small victories along the way, enjoy the process of getting better. Life was meant to be enjoyed so you don’t have to commit to resolutions as if it's a military exercise. Focus on getting better, but have fun along the way.

Here’s to a New Year full of new goals and resolutions. May we all be a little better than we were last year.

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As always, thank you for reading, I hope you have a great week.

Gratefully Yours,

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113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA, 98104-2205
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