A Strategic Approach to Sustainable Goals

Guiding Light Amidst Resolution Challenges

Welcome to the second ✌️instalment of my weekly insights! After thoughtful 💭consideration over the past few days, I’ve landed on a topic that I believe is both timely ⌚️and relevant. As we approach the point in the month when many New Year’s Resolutions may be wavering, or have fallen by the wayside, it’s crucial to offer inspiration and motivation to those in need. Whether you’re on the brink of abandoning your goals🥅, have already flopped, or are seeking that extra push😤, this week’s insight is tailored just for you.

Deconstructing Resolutions Pitfalls

One challenge I’ve identified with New Year’s 🎊🎇 Resolutions is the Big Bang💥 approach it entails—starting with a grand declaration like ‘From January 1st, I’m going to…’ or the delayed start due to a New Year’s hangover. This approach makes sustainability nearly impossible. Along with selecting and committing to a single resolution which can be demanding, especially if that goal doesn’t align with your existing daily lifestyle. It’s crucial to find a more realistic and integrated approach to foster lasting change.

Take, for instance, the common New Year’s Resolution of hitting the gym 🏋️‍♀️three times a week. Now, this might seem like a reasonable goal, but if I’m someone unfamiliar with gyms, their facilities and locations📍. I could quite easily set myself up to fail, opting for a gym further🛣️from home that I spotted on socials adding an unnecessary obstacle to developing the gym habit needed for commitment. If, on top of that, I have poor eating habits and an unhealthy diet 🥗, it becomes a recipe for disaster. Not only will I struggle to adopt a completely new habit, but my body won’t even receive the necessary nutrients to support becoming a regular gym-goer. It’s essential to align our goals with a realistic understanding of our current lifestyle and make gradual changes for lasting success.

Insights from Overcoming Setbacks

After experiencing constant setbacks in maintaining my New Year’s Resolutions, I opted for a different approach two years ago in 2022. While I didn’t accomplish every single goal I set, over the past year 2023 saw me successfully completed two courses and secured a job promotion, all of which were on my goal list. Though I may not have reached my ultimate objective, achieving around 1/3 of it is a considerable improvement compared to my past efforts.

While some may contend my strategy isn’t flawless and therefore potentially not worth sharing, I would argue if your current method isn’t yielding results, then making some slight adjustments to your approach, even if it’s only using part of my suggestions could set you on the path to achieving your personal goals.

My approach is straightforward: I establish my main goal for the year and I choose a guiding word for the year, something aligned with my goal, that will help me make difficult life decisions keeping me focused and set on achieving my overarching 2024 objective.

I then break the year down into four quarters🗓️:

January to March, 

April to June, 

July to September, 

October to December. 

Subsequently, I reverse-engineer the process examining the behaviour and lifestyle of individuals who have already achieved my desired goal. For instance, if my overarching aim is to attain a healthier lifestyle, I contemplate the habits of those who embody such a lifestyle. While I may already possess some of those qualities, there will undoubtedly be aspects I lack, and these become integral steps🪜toward achieving my overarching goal. The next phase involves deciphering the necessary steps and plotting them into the four quarters outlined earlier.

Achieving and Sustaining Resolutions with Purpose

Honestly, I wholeheartedly 💕believe that achieving and maintaining New Year’s resolutions is possible if it’s a genuine desire, coupled with the discipline to consistently put in the necessary work whilst it is an undoubtedly challenging task it is achievable.

 P.S. By subscribing to my mailing list, you’ll receive the template of the personal strategy I use to map out my year.

MOCD