In just a few days it’ll be time again to analyze the lives we were perfectly fine living the last 365 days, and yet somehow come to the conclusion that it all needs to change right NOW. We’ll all launch into a crafting time with magazine cuttings, gluing, taping, and pulling out the fanciest of our pens to create the vision board or resolution list of our dreams. 2023, however, is the time to finally get past your pretty bucket list and actually make a change for the better! We at Seven Gables have gathered some of our top tips to make and KEEP all of your new year’s resolutions this year, and every year thereafter. Let’s take a look.
Tip 1. Do what matters to YOU
It can be very easy in this time to get dragged into the hype of some of the most popular resolutions: lose or gain a certain amount of weight, learn a new hobby or skill, and to save more money. However, if you really take the time to reflect this year, you might realize you don’t actually care about these things. Maybe you find your love handles endearing, think your list of three hobbies is plenty, or really want to buy that new phone! Think about what has happened in your life this past year and what you actually want to change…or keep the same! A resolution to keep going to kickboxing all spring, or to stop biting your nails might be better suited to your personal situation than the typical things people think they SHOULD do. Remember, it’s your life, not instagram’s.
Tip 2. Focus on what YOU can control, and be realistic!
It can get very easy to feel discouraged (sometimes as quickly as February) when it comes to trying to accomplish our goals for the new year. Let’s say you, the proud owner of CoolCupcakeLady LLC. make your goal to get 50 sales in your side hustle business and read 100 books. Well, is that up to you and realistic? For starters, whether or not CoolCupcakeLady makes 50 sales is up to 50 other people. Maybe a better goal would be to advertise your cupcakes online for 30 days in a row. That way, your number of sales can feel like a nice bonus to accomplishing your true goals; the things that you control. And, with your business taking up your time, is trying to finish a book every 3 to 4 days realistic? It might be better to make your goal a lesser amount. It might not sound as good, but being much more likely to complete it is a better motivator than something that feels impossibly far away.
Tip 3. Set SMART goals
A typical resolution might be I want to make more friends. but would making one friend appease you or do you need five? Is that by the spring or by the time you die? Let’s make it SMART! SMART goals are goals that are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. Stating your resolutions as SMART goals instead of abstract wishes can help ground them in reality, give you a sense of accomplishment with each success, and light a fire under you with a clear deadline. So let’s think…
Specific – Close friends you can call daily and hang out with at least once a month.
Measureable – 5 friends would be great!
Achievable – But…you have other obligations in life so maybe 3 is more realistic.
Relevant – This is a good goal for you because since moving you have yet to meet your tribe. This is relevant to your life!
Timely – You really want to go to that festival in July, so making friends before then would be ideal.
This means your SMART goal would be I want to make 3 close friends that I can call and hang out with often by July, ideally so we can go to the festival together! Doesn’t that give you much more information to work with? How can you make your resolutions SMART?
Tip 4. Have an accountabiliBUDDY
When your boss is waiting on a document, somehow you find all the motivation needed to get it in on time. Or when your rent goes up AGAIN, you find the time to contact one of our advisors and find yourself a place of your own before lease-renewal season arrives. This is because someone or something is holding you accountable. There is a deadline and/or a consequence associated with your failure in the form of a bad quarterly review or a rent payment that could’ve been a mortgage payment. A great way to keep up with the goals you set yourself that don’t have any built in consequences, is to add in the pressure of someone else knowing about it. Find a friend to hold you accountable for your resolutions, and you can do the same for them! A weekly check in and a disapproving frown when you’re not keeping up with yourself might be all you need to kick your goals into hyperdrive!
Tip 5. If you fail, then try and TRY AGAIN!
Did you know that 43% of people fail at their New Year’s resolutions before February? It explains to us frequent fliers why the gym is always so busy in January and then back to normal by March. It can be very easy when setting a goal, particularly one with daily checkmarks, to miss the mark. After missing the mark it can feel like, what’s the point? You were supposed to work out three days a week, and yet you missed all of last week! Clearly your goal was too lofty and you should just go sit down. Well, instead of that I challenge you to wipe your slate of guilt and failures clean and simply try again. Most things worth having don’t come easily, so even if your first take isn’t perfect and you miss the mark, that doesn’t mean you should give up on making all future marks! Try again, adjust your SMART goal if needed, and don’t give up! Remember why this was important to you and keep your head up!
Maybe it won’t be easy, but if you pick goals that are important to you, make sure they’re in your control and realistic, make them SMART goals, have a friend hold you accountable, and keep at it – keeping your New Year’s resolutions will definitely be within reach! We at Seven Gables believe in you and wish you well going into the new year. What will you work towards this year?
