Are you still keeping your New Year's resolutions?

Are you still keeping your New Year’s resolutions? If so, congratulations! You are in a very small group. According to a 2007 study by Franklin Covey (as in Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), 35% of people who make resolutions break them before the end of January and only 23% manage to keep them all year. Another study is even more discouraging, showing that only 8% of people succeed in keeping their resolutions.

Maybe like many people, you need some help to get motivated and get back on track. Here is my four-step system for redirecting my steps when I lose my sense of direction toward my goals.

1. Review. You need to take stock of your plan and what went wrong. This is the most important step and the most difficult. It is important because without assessing your situation you can’t move forward. It is difficult because you must be completely honest with yourself. Consider these three areas where you might have experienced problems with your resolutions:

Alignment. Were your resolutions consistent with your goals and your vision? Were they a good fit for you?

Size and Scale. Were your goals too ambitious? Did you try too attempt too much at once? For instance, beginning an exercise regimen by resolving to work out for an hour every day may have been too difficult a starting point. You may have been more successful starting with a 20 minute routine three times a week, and increasing your workouts as your exercise habit develops.

Implementation. Were there obstacles that prevented you from keeping your promises to yourself? For example, if you resolved to practice for an hour every morning, but all your mornings were too hectic to get any practice done, you need to change either your practice time or your morning routine.

After you have completed your review, it’s time to move forward with a new plan.

2. Refresh. Use the results of your review to help you clearly define your goals. Envision where you want to be at the end of the year. Get excited about the changes you will make.

3. Re-design. Create a new action plan, a step-by-step guide toward achieving your goals. Evaluate all your steps in the light of the three potential problem areas above (alignment, size and scale, implementation).

4. Re-commit. Make the commitment to yourself. Set down your resolutions on paper. You should be able to see the small, manageable steps you will take every day toward your goal.

Winter is nearly over and the warmer weather is coming. It’s a great time for Spring Resolutions!