A new year is a great time for a reset. For 2020, an estimated 164 Million Americans made a New Year’s resolution. 50% of all people make a resolution about getting healthy or losing weight and 49% of people resolve to save more money. The not-so-great thing is about 88% of people will give up on their resolution during the year. Yikes! Change is hard. Today, we will talk about how to get back on track if you need a boost or to keep your great momentum going if you are still on your way to meeting your goals.
The good news is that our brains like habits because these free up our mental resources to think and focus on other things. So any behavior can be learned or un-learned (think smoking) with the right effort and attention. But just know that the more time intensive or physically taxing the new habit, the more we have to practice and reinforce it until it just becomes part of what we do and who we are. So why do we fail to follow through? Here are the most common three reasons:
Reason 1:
Where most people get tripped up is they know “what” they want to do…like lose 20 pounds but they haven’t identified the “why”. People that can be very specific about what they want to accomplish and why are more likely to keep making progress. So as you think about changes or positive habits you want to see in your life in 2020, you also have to meditate and reflect on why those specific goals are important.
My goal for 2020 was to launch and grow this podcast. That is my what. But the thing that is equally or even more important is the why I’m doing it. I want to help other people stress less about their money. There are definitely days where I don’t really want to research or write or record, but when those days happen I always think back to my why. You can’t help anybody by doing nothing.
So let’s go back to a fitness goal…specifically the one about losing 20 pounds. That is your what. But maybe the why is you want to have more energy to play with your kids. Or you want to lose the weight to set a good example for loved ones in your life so they can lose weight too. We all have our own why’s that drive and motivate us to learn, improve and grow as people. If you find your why, you will make it a lot more likely you will achieve your what.
Reason 2:
The next reason people don’t make it across the finish line is they lack accountability around them to keep them going. A key part of achieving a goal is having a social support network around you to hold you accountable. The benefits of social support have been studied numerous times and we see many businesses built on the science of people helping people. I encourage everyone to find a buddy to keep them on track. You can ask a friend or co-worker to be your accountability partner. If that feels weird or awkward, it is easier than ever to connect to people with a shared passion or interest in your city or online. There are online groups and apps like Supporti (https://www.getsupporti.com/) that can help you get paired up with someone to keep you on track. Also there are Meet Up groups in most cities where you can find like-minded people to help you stay the course.
Reason 3:
That last really common reason people don’t see their resolutions completed is because they are focused too much on short-term, instant results and fail to see and commit to the long term nature of achieving goals. Said different, we get really focused on instant-gratification and when we don’t see significant progress or gains we stop going. It is cliché to say but it is often true, “it is a marathon and not a sprint”.
I hope you are achieving all your goals in 2020. And I hope Calm Cash can be a part of you being your best self.
