Resist resolutions
I don’t make new year resolutions.
If you’ve read journals, newspapers or online forums as we start 2021 you’ll notice they are full of ‘new year, new you’ and how to make resolutions stick. I have seen plenty of ‘top ten ways to keep resolutions’.
I am not knocking them. Rule 1 - do what works and do more of it. However…..
Intention is one thing, keeping it up is another.
2021 has started with its share of challenges
My solution? Prioritise a personal plan for 2021 that contains approaches to bring you more permanenet success. Adopt your intentions and choices as a blue print for meeting all the challenges and changes you want to make. Crucially, integrate wellbeing into the actions you apply. This plan is about taking care of yourself and optimising your chances of success.
Here’s how
I have begun studying positive psychology, the science of optimal functioning, of wellbeing. This has led me to some conclusions about how to make the change you want for yourself stick. In other words, if you have an intention to change something for the better for yourself, there are evidence-based ways that demonstrate how to make it stick.
Making your intentions stick
Create a personal blue print
It’s about developing and using a conscious strategy for making personal change
Choice, action, positive intention, hunt the good stuff and grit.
Make a positive choice. Your intent should be positive. The most important things if you want change are the choices you make and the actions you take. It’s a conscious choice not a resolution.
Turn it into a daily or weekly action. What do you need to do to make this work? What is the action? Small steps done regularly move you forwards.
Keep your intention in view. Pay attention to the change, notice when you drift off (as we all do at some point) and then decide consciously to get back to the action. There’s a phrase ‘bring yourself back kindly’ from mindfulness thinking. The key to keeping your intention in view is to become more present more often.
Hunt the good stuff. This approach is used to notice positive experiences to enhance optimism, gratitude and other positive emotions and counter negativity along the way. Record three good things each day. Note successes however small. Write them down. Keep a record you can look back on. Ask yourself ’what can I do tomorrow to enable more of this good thing?’
Grit. Angela Duckworth’s research and book explains that grit involves having both passion and perseverance for a goal. You care about it so much you weave it into every day life and activities. So much so that even if you drift, things get difficult, or perhaps you fail, you pick yourself up and keep going. Perseverance is a resilience strength. This link takes you to some further tips on how to cultivate perseverance.
The climber has a blue print for success.
Choose the climbing route. Identify choice points and options. Climb. Commit to getting to the top. Find the best route, holds, lines. Grit - persevere if you fall (the rope and your training will hold you), try again.
Choice, action, positive intention, hunt the good stuff and grit.
Try it. Let me know how you get on.