How to Keep Your Goals and Resolutions This Year
It's more than a week into 2022, and if you haven't seen any drastic changes in your life yet, don't worry. The new year is a time for a fresh start, but the year itself isn't the thing that's going to help you achieve your goals or keep you motivated. That's all you!
Many of us have a laundry list of goals we want to achieve, and then 3 months in, we give up because we don't see any progress. Or maybe we give up because it's too much work.
That has been me my entire life. I made so many goals for myself and just waited around, hoping they would happen. But it's not up to other people to keep you accountable for your goals.
No one will care about your goals as much as you do. So you have to be the one that holds yourself accountable, and you have to trust yourself enough to know what you need to do.
Why is it so hard to keep your goals?
People think that keeping and achieving goals is all about motivation. They believe that if they stay motivated all the time, their goals will be easier to reach.
But do you want to know the real secret to achieving your goals?
Discipline.
Motivation comes and goes. You aren't going to wake up motivated every day.
It's about doing what you need to do even when you don't feel like it. It's about staying consistent with your work.
4 Ways to Keep Yourself Motivated and Disciplined
1. Have a vision and constantly remind yourself of that vision.
It's hard to keep going when you don't know why you are working towards something. Creating a vision for why you're doing what you're doing and reminding yourself of that vision is a great source of motivation. Remember why you're doing it when you don't feel like doing something. It's not for nothing. You have a reason, whether it's a feeling or outcome. Keep this vision strong and constantly remind yourself of it.
2. Make a list of priorities for the day.
This is known as the Ivy League Method. So at the beginning of your day, you create a list of 6 priorities. These are things you need to get done. Write them down from most important to least important. Then you begin doing the things on your list. If you have any tasks left at the end of the day, put them at the top of your list tomorrow. Keep going until you've accomplished all the things you need to do each day.
3. Do the most challenging thing on your list first.
If you have something to do but feel resistance to it, do it first. Doing the hardest thing first shows your brain that you're up for the challenge. You are willing to do what you don't want to do but need to do. Otherwise, you'll keep putting it off, and it'll be on your list forever. Once you get it out of the way, you can do the things you enjoy.
4. Take it one step at a time.
You can't see progress if you check in every single day. You won't be able to see how far you've come when you're obsessively seeing how much you've done. Take it day by day, one step at a time. Progress isn't about doing a ton of things every day. It might look like doing a few productive things consistently. Consistency is key. As long as you commit yourself to your dream and work on it just a little every day, you'll see huge progress, maybe a month or two later.
Keeping your goals and resolutions isn't about having motivation all the time. When you stay consistent and disciplined every day, that's when the magic happens.
I am learning this too. If you've been the type of person to have a list of goals but never seem to get to them, try out these tips. And remember to stay compassionate with yourself. Your worth doesn't come from your productivity or the amount of work you accomplish within a period.
You are capable of so much, and this is the year where you'll see true transformation. I just know it!
If you have any questions or suggestions for what you want to hear from me next, leave them in the comments below or send me an email at hello@sangeetharamachandran.com
You can also send me a DM on Instagram @thesangeethanrama!
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