On average, only 10% of people stick with the goals that they set for themselves as their New Year’s resolutions. According to CBS News, roughly 23% of people quit within the first week, 43% by the end of January, and an entire 80% drop their resolutions by mid-February. Behind all this failure are psychological and critical thinking issues, rooted in pure human nature, and all of it can be overcome if one knows how to set goals correctly.
Ms. Zahra Bond, a school counselor at Foran High School, says, “People struggle with goals if they don’t break them down into small, manageable steps. It’s harder to achieve your goals if you don’t break the steps down to achieve them with small milestones.”
Goals often fail because people never actually turn them into habits and think of them as something that is soon to come rather than something that is already happening.
Before making an effort to achieve a goal, a person must ensure that it is a goal they are genuinely motivated to follow through with. It should not be a goal that will die out quickly due to a lack of interest, as they’re only meant for improvement and the benefit of the person setting them. A goal that does not seem either fun or useful is not a goal worth setting.
After establishing a goal, the next step is mapping out how it is going to be done. It needs to be broken down into a couple of steps that could be marked as milestones to measure progress along the way. However, it is also important to have deadlines with rewards at the end, if necessary, to motivate further and keep going.
Physical Education teacher, Mr. Thomas Hair, states, “I’ve struggled with my goals before. The way I found is good to resolve them is by trying to stay as consistent as I can.” Consistency is key to achieving something; making an effort towards improving something every day is crucial, as it makes working towards the goal an everyday event.
The final, most important thing for setting reasonable goals for this New Year’s is accepting that progress may not always be instant.
Bond states, “Be kind to yourself and set realistic and attainable goals. Everyone has to start somewhere. Each day you are another step forward.” Putting these steps together may be challenging, but in the end, they and the goal will be worth it.
Although setting correct goals for the New Year may be challenging, it is a great introduction to any self-improvement. Following the steps discussed will lighten the load and pressure of sticking to a goal significantly and eventually lead to success.
