We’re at the end of January, and New Year’s thoughts are far behind many of us. The things that we were motivated and excited about a few weeks ago may have become successful new habits. Or it’s quite possible that those resolutions are long forgotten. Many of us do tend to slack off of our new resolutions pretty quickly. So now that we’re at the end of what we consider to be the resolution month, it might be a good time to reboot our resolutions.
According to Discover Daily Habits, once only one week of January has gone by, 25% of us have given up on our resolutions. By the end of the second week, we’ve lost a few more at 29%. And at the point we are at right now, the end of January, 36% have stopped being successful at their resolutions.
Figure out what went wrong
So what can we do if we’ve forgotten to keep going in one of those goals we set a month ago? Well, first, let’s figure out why we didn’t stick with it? Was it too vague, or was it unrealistic? Did we go through an unexpected event that pushed everything aside? Maybe you simply forgot to make a good plan to help you follow through. Or perhaps you realized that you really don’t want to do that goal. There’s likely an identifiable reason that you did not continue with your goal. So let’s find that reason.
Choose a solution
Once we know why we weren’t successful, we can decide the best way to go forward and reboot our resolutions. We may find that we actually didn’t want to do some of our goals. For those, it’s probably best to just let it go. You probably can’t let go of necessary health goals. So for these, maybe you should consider a different approach that would motivate you to work on your health.
You can evaluate any goal this way. It’s helpful to look at the reasons we were’t motivated, especially for goals that we really wanted to accomplish. Then we can figure out a new way to approach this effort. We can plan ways to deal with the roadblocks and figure out what would help us move forward.
Vague goals are often difficult to accomplish. When we find that we chose something too broad, we can come up with smaller action items to help us get to that broad goal. Specific action items are easier to accomplish. They are clear and measurable, and these make us feel like we really did accomplish something.
And do you know what happens to us when we accomplish something? It feels great, and that feeling alone can motivate us to go on to the next accomplishment.
Make a new plan
This kind of thinking goes along with having a clear plan. A resolution is difficult to accomplish if we don’t have a clear plan to help us along. It’s good to have a simple plan. We’ll be more successful if we keep it simple. But do have some kind of plan for how to accomplish this goal. It will help you when you are not feeling motivated. Just follow the next step of the plan.
So, to reboot our resolutions, figure out what went wrong, and come up with a realistic solution to help you be more successful. Then, let’s try again.
Teaching our kids these principles
Following through with a New Year’s resolution isn’t something that consumes the thoughts of a 3-year old. Still, we can teach our kids to decide on something that should be done, and to then follow through with that thing. We can teach our kids to evaluate how an activity went, and then choose one thing to do differently next time. Kids can be really good at evaluation.
Help your kids learn how to set small expectations for themselves before heading out the door or starting an activity. These expectations are great tools for us as parents as we remind our kids of their expectations. Then, when you finish or get back home, ask your kids how they think they did on their expectations. You can also tell them how you think they did. And always try to think about how to do better next time.
The Signing Time Dictionary has a section with all kinds of actions that can help you as you set expectations or goals with your kids. Maybe you can start with the sign for practice, since whether you’re a child or an adult, this successful goal setting will take a lot of practice!
And don’t forget to check out our programming at My Signing Time. Our shows are full of songs, fun ways to learn, and good character skills. You can explore a digital subscription to My Signing Time with a 14-day free trial to see if it’s a good fit for your family!