New Year Solutions

Instead of creating a new stack of resolutions that end up collecting dust on the shelf, why not focus on solutions for the coming year? Here are five tips to help you keep your promises for the coming year.

1. Write Them Down

Writing down your goals is an important step. It takes the goal from the realm of 'just thinking about it' to 'I am committed to make it happen.' The act of writing itself will reinforce the goal. It also creates a visual connection to the goal. More importantly, writing a goal can commit that goal to your subconscious. This is the part of your brain that has tremendous influence on your thoughts, actions, and beliefs. Here are a few tips for writing down strong goals:

a. Focus on what you will, not what you won't. For example, 'I will stop giving into my cravings' is a weak goal because it focuses on what you won't. 'I will consistently eat healthy foods' is a strong goal because it focuses on what you will.

b. Reinforce your goals by writing them as if already accomplished. Refining our goal above, 'I will consistently eat healthy foods' turns into 'I consistently eat healthy foods.' Instead of, 'I will lose weight' a stronger goal is 'I am a healthy weight and feel great about my level of fitness.'

c. Be detailed. Instead of, 'I am fit' how about, 'I can run five miles without stopping. I can do 20 push-ups in a row.' These are detailed, finite goals that you can measure your success against.

2. Read Them Daily

This may seem like a silly step to some. If you have trouble creating this habit, talk to people who are successful at obtaining their goals. You'll find that nine times out of ten, successful people read their goals daily. Reading your goals daily reinforces them. It sets the stage for the day. Sure, you may remember your goals, but reading them is an active recognition and re-commitment to achieving them. Again, you are not just reading them to take up time or for your own sake - reading them also reinforces to your subconscious that you are serious about achieving them.

If you want to take it a step further, rewrite your goals every day. Sure, it takes extra time and may seem like a chore at first, but again this is about retaining focus. Some days you may not feel up to your goals, but by creating a daily ritual of writing and reading them aloud, you will reinforce that initial passion you had on New Year's Day to 'set a resolution.' Do you start your day by watching the local news? Why not focus instead on what you will achieve by focusing on your goals first thing in the morning?

3. Set Realistic Goals

One of the main reasons people fail to achieve their resolutions is that they set unrealistic expectations. If you have never run in your life, don't set a goal to run a marathon. Set a goal to begin running consistently instead - there will be plenty of opportunities to set bigger goals down the road. You may have heard the expression, 'Crawl before you walk.' While it's important to set goals a little outside of your comfort zone to challenge yourself, be realistic and don't set goals that are doomed to failure. By setting smaller goals you are likely to succeed at, you will gain the confidence and the ability to take on even greater goals.

4. Set Incremental Goals

Incremental goals help you gauge your progress and break down the process of achieving your goal. If you want to lose 30 kilograms over the year, set a mid-year goal of losing 15 kilograms pounds and a first quarter goal of losing 8 kilograms. The smaller goals lead to bigger ones. When I decided to run an 80-kilometer race, I broke down my goal into smaller steps. The first was a 5-kilometer race, followed by a 10K, followed by a half marathon and then a full marathon. Each of these smaller goals is part of the progression to the larger one. If I simply focused on running 80K, I would be overwhelmed. By focusing on the next milestone instead, I am able to gradually improve my running and work towards the ultimate goal.

5. Be Flexible

This is by far the most important part of achieving your goals. You must be flexible. Too many people tackle their resolutions with an 'either/or' attitude - 'either I follow my plan 100% or I will give up.' This is not the attitude of a winner. Life happens. If your goal is to eat consistently healthy, and you find yourself splurging, don't throw in the towel. Understand that this is part of the process. Focus on being more consistent the following week and realize that if you used to eat junk food all of the time, going a week and then having a 'weak moment' is still an improvement.

The same goes with training. I recently injured my iliotibial band (ITB) which prevented me from going on many of my scheduled runs or even completing them. I could have said, 'Okay, that's it, I missed my training, it's all over.' Instead, I adapted my schedule and set new goals based on recovering from that injury. After a few weeks, I was back on schedule and on target.

One 'problem' you may face is setting bigger goals. When I started running again, my original goal was to complete a marathon. After being bitten by the running bug, I decided this wasn't a big enough goal, and set my sights on an ultramarathon instead. Again, it's about being flexible - my 'resolutions' at the end of the year may not match those at the beginning, but not because I pushed them aside … it's often because I've accomplished my goals sooner than expected and made room for new ones!

The New Year is here. You have 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,765 hours, 525,948 minutes, or 31.6 million seconds to make a difference. You can create a list of half-hearted resolutions, or instead set realistic goals that are solutions for your life. The choice is yours to make this the best year of your life. Will you choose to live in the problem, or the solution?