5 reasons your New Year’s goals may not stick
It's likely not a surprise that 80% of new year's goals are abandoned by the end of February.
So many of us start the year with great intentions, big aspirations, a hit of motivation, but quickly see our progress dwindle.
Watch Brittany’s recent TV interview where she highlights three of the five reasons your goals may not stick
While studying goals and habits of my clients over the last four years, I've found five common traps that people fall into when setting their goals. These traps typically result in a short-lived goal, that feels like a lot of work, and creates unnecessary stress.
For each of the traps below, first identify which sounds most like you (could be more than one). Then use the recommendations to re-evaluate your current goals and see how you may need to adjust the goal itself, your habits, or your mindset in order to find momentum.
The all or nothing mindset - you're not being realistic
What it looks like:
You're trying to go from 0 to 100 by tomorrow
You're trying to change your habits overnight
You're quickly discouraged when you fall off track
Example: you want to start going to the gym 5x/week when you have been in the last 6 months (or more).
What to do instead:
Commit to baby steps along the way
Be patient, it will take time to shift your habits
Give yourself grace when you're not at 100%
Example: start up your gym routine at 2x/week and gradually increase over time as you begin to adjust your body and your schedule to the new routine.
2. You tend to set it and forget it - you don't have a way to hold yourself accountable
What it looks like:
You're all excited the first few weeks of the year
Your excitement and motivation fades by February or March
You don't even remember your goals by December
Example: you set a new year's resolution to read one book a month but quickly fall behind on reading.
What to do instead:
Set reminders on your phone or calendar
Recruit a friend to be your accountability buddy
Join an accountability group to share your progress
Example: Set a recurring reminder on your phone to pick each month's book, and find a time in your daily or weekly routine that you'd like to dedicate to reading.
3. Your goals are externally-based - you set goals that you're not actually excited about
What it looks like:
Your goals sound good on paper but you're not motivated
They likely came from someone else (friends, family, media)
You feel like you're just checking a box
Example: You have a goal to become a lawyer but hate reading court documents
What to do instead:
Ask yourself, do your goals align with your values?
What's your why behind this goal?
What goal would really light you up?
4. You’re missing discipline - you don't have a plan to get there
What it looks like:
You have big ideas and goals but no path to get there
You're great at starting projects, not so much finishing them
You typically need an external deadline to motivate you
Example: You've started five house projects that are still half-finished and want to start another this year.
What to do instead:
Brainstorm or mindmap your action needed
Break your goal down into quarterly or monthly milestone
Hire a coach to hold you accountable
5. You tend to get overwhelmed - you keep getting stuck in analysis paralysis
What it looks like:
You have all the goals and a lot of the steps mapped out
But looking at how far you have to go overwhelms you
You question where to start or how you'll be able to do it, so you don’t take any action
Example: You've been researching 'how to start a business' for months (or years) but haven't taken any other action
What to do instead:
Commit to one step at a time
You don't have to worry about what you need to do in six months from now yet
Do one thing each day or week to move you forward
If your goals need more than willpower to stick this year, the Sustainable Leadership Program pairs you with a coach as your private accountability partner.
Brittany Canaski is a highly-rated Leadership Coach, Trainer, and Founder of Hello Velocity where she builds confident leaders and high-performing teams. When she's not building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure with her husband, watching Formula 1 racing, or volunteering in her local community of Charlotte, NC.
