Christie Renee
Jan 15, 20203 min
And how to keep it from happening this year.
Every year, many of us are making New Year’s Resolutions and setting themes for the year. But by Jan 15, only half of us or less are following through. Even fewer make it to the end of the month. But why? It’s time for us to start finishing what we set out to do. Here are 7 likely reasons why you are struggling to follow through with your resolutions and how you can reach your goals.
1. You don’t know who you are
It’s pretty difficult to set a goal for something (or someone) you don’t understand. You need to do some inventory: learn your likes/dislikes, triggers, what makes you happy, upset, where you excel and where you lack. ACCEPT what makes you you and determine where you want to go based on YOU.
2. Your Goals are vague and unrealistic.
We all want to be happy. Or to have some money. Matta fact, I’m thinking a hunnid billion would make me happy. But what does happiness look like with $100 Billion? Is $100 billion too big and unattainable within 12 months? How and when do I plan on getting $100 billion and happiness? Your goals need to be relevant to you and your dreams, specific, measurable, and achievable within a certain time frame. Take your goals step by step, day by day.
3. You didn’t set any metrics for success
Ok so boom, how will you know that you’ve met your goals? Set up mini goals to help you track progress. Now, there’s great metrics and less effective metrics. Let’s say you want to lose weight. if you only measure your weight loss by pounds and not with inches, you might get discouraged and quit when the scale doesn’t move, which happens often. Adding inches as a metric could help you better track and see changes in your weight loss over time and stay encouraged and motivated. If you want to be happy, maybe measure happiness by how many times you laugh a day or how many hours you spend doing the things you love.
4. You don’t pace yourself or celebrate small wins
Fam! You gotta take your time and celebrate when you meet those metrics of success. Are you at your ultimate goal? No but you’re MUCH closer than you were when you first started. As you take it day by day, recognize your effort and discipline and pat yourself on the back! When you lose 1 inch, treat yourself to a relaxation day or go have a “BadBishAlert” Day. When you laugh 5 times in one day, take a moment to bask in the moment and be grateful for your journey! YOU DID THAT! Now be careful: don’t celebrate in a way that will set you back from your goal. Like as much as you may want to, don’t pig out at your favorite restaurant after losing 1 inch unless you know you can handle it and stay on track of your goals! KNOW YOURSELF!
5. You talk crazy to yourself
I get it, sometimes you gotta grab yourself by the collar to get it together. But you gotta be more careful about when you are correcting and when you are putting too much pressure on yourself because of external pressures and/or unrealistic expectations. Fuck what everyone is or is not doing on social media. Fuck the idea of perfection and people pleasing. Your goals should be for YOU! When you get down or mess up, encourage yourself. Grant yourself some grace and remind yourself of all the great things you did instead of all the shortcomings. Remind yourself how lit you are on your own, regardless of what others are doing. Be honest with yourself but also be your biggest hype man.
6. Your environment doesn’t support your vision.
Just like you wouldn’t expect a rose to grow in the snow or in the shade, you can’t expect to meet your goals if your environment does not support your goal. If everyone around you is always eating out or brings negative energy, you have to set boundaries for yourself (and them) until you meet your goals. Check the people, policies, views, and resources around you and determine whether or not you could realistically meet your goals at your current standing.
Fam, please know that you are more than capable of achieving your resolutions and other goals you set throughout the year. You just gotta be a little more intentional and position yourself so that you can win! You got this! And if you don’t think you do, no worries. That’s why the Gutted Gang is here to support you!
Have you made your vision board yet? Check out the Gutted Goals worksheet to help you in setting and managing your goals.
XOXO,
Christie