5 ways to keep your new year’s commitments
How to build a new habit
Don’t make Resolutions, make DECISIONS, and set yourself up for success
Introduction
Staying on track with your goals can be a daunting challenge, and often, it has little to do with the sheer strength of your willpower. Instead, it's about understanding the mechanics of learning new habits or releasing old ones. Whether you aim to refrain from alcohol for a month or establish a year-long fitness and wellness routine, the principles for making positive changes are similar. Here are my 5 key tips to set yourself up for success .
Small but Steady Steps
Success in habit formation starts with taking small, manageable steps just beyond your comfort zone. Whether you're looking to break free from an old habit or embrace a new one, incremental progress is key. Take it one day at a time and gradually expand your boundaries. The book Atomic Habits by James Clear (aff link) is an excellent guide to creating new habits. In the book James explains how teaching yourself to add something new to your routine can be helped if you “Stack” your habits, so add one behaviour to another that already exists. For example, you could start a set of squats when you make your morning coffee. Another key strategy is using small incremental steps. I managed to get from 6 minutes (3 x 2 mins) to 15 minutes ( 3 x. mins + 1 x 3 mins) of skipping in a year by adding 1 minute to each set over months.
2. Find your Why
Dig deeper into why you've chosen a particular goal to help you anchor the desire in a specific context. This is a key part of staying on track when you feel like falling off. What's the motivation driving your actions (or inactions)? What benefits would you get from keeping this up? It helps if the perks of this commitment go beyond yourself, and you can find a larger set of positive outcomes for this behaviour for your family, community or workplace. For example, if you decide to move 3 x per week for 30 mins, the benefits could be increased energy and stamina, which will help you be more focused at work and more patient with your family. Write down your reasons and motivations somewhere visible to serve as a constant reminder, keep this in a journal you look at daily, or on a post-it stuck to your computer, and remember to read it!
3. Use Visual Tools to Track Progress
Keep a visual record of your journey by marking off the days you complete the tasks you committed to. Visual tools provide a tangible representation of your progress, reinforcing your commitment and serving as a source of motivation. Examples of this could be a sticker chart, coloring in boxes on a grid, marking off your calendar or for more fun, download my Wins Tracker + Streak Sheet here and you can give yourself a tick every day you meet your commitment.
4. Celebrate Milestones
Alays measure your progress forward and celebrate milestones. Evaluate your progress by comparing where you are now to where you started. Celebrate small milestones along the way, acknowledging your achievements and reinforcing positive behavior. Maybe you can take yourself out for a treat, or create a reward chart. This process not only boosts your morale but also instils a sense of pride in your success. This is where my Wins Tracker Comes in, so you can track your success!
You could celebrate weekly once you have completed 7 days of a commitment, or monthly after keeping up your wins. It is important to reward yourself, but not with the behaviour you are trying to avoid, so DON’T celebrate a week of not drinking with a glass of wine! But DO have a dance party, have a sweet treat, give yourself a massage or another positive reward.
5. Get External Accountability
The probability of success increases exponentially when you have a person or group supporting you with regular communication. by providing updates on your daily and weekly progress - this is a way to SUPERCHARGE your commitment!
Choose someone (or some group) who will not only cheer you on but also hold you accountable if you falter, offering the support needed to get back on track. This is your team, your cheering squad, your backers. It could be a partner, friends, family, work colleagues or people you don’t even know!
But declare your commitment and share it to make your ability to complete what you have set your mind to easier.
The Ultimate Cheerleader is a Coach so if you think you need some support, book a Free 🪩 Discovery (disco) Call with me here - Let chat and see how I could best support you!
Conclusion
An additional key to this process is kindness and compassion to yourself. You may fall off your commitment, you may stray from your goals but the key is to choose to try again the next minute, next hour, next day.
Beating yourself up for not perfectly executing something new will only keep you stuck. Instead, understand that this learning process may involve a few stumbles, but if you keep getting up and keep trying again, you are more likely to succeed in the end.
Staying on track and forming new habits is not solely about willpower; it's a systematic process that requires careful consideration and planning. By taking manageable steps, setting realistic expectations, using visual tools, measuring progress, celebrating milestones, and seeking external accountability, you can enhance your chances of success. Remember, the journey is as important as the destination, and each step forward is a victory worth celebrating!