How To Achieve Your New Year's Resolution?

Did you achieve your new year's resolution? It's so frustrating isn't it? Not being able to achieve your resolution. The difficult part about new year's resolution is committing consistently for an entire year. Most of us would quit after a month and it just becomes an endless cycle of disappointment every year.

You set a resolution. You get hyped. You commit for a month. You become too busy. You forgot about it. And when the year ends, you are disappointed for not doing it. Then the cycle repeats.

Sounds familiar right?

Maybe it's time to consider that perhaps your method for achieving your resolution is not working. First we have to answer why we lose our will to persevere? The problem is there are countless distractions and responsibilities, and sometimes our resolution requires us to endure emotional or physical discomfort which we hate. For example, running requires us to endure physical discomfort in order to be fit and healthy.

Habit Loop

So how exactly do we overcome all these hurdles? We make use of habits. Habits are hard to break and are immune to any distractions. You will be compelled to carry out your desired action on an almost subconscious level with minimal dread and effort needed. It's like going home everyday on the same route. You are practically on auto-pilot the whole time. And you would realize how difficult it is to suddenly change your direction and go to the supermarket because you remembered you have to buy something. Same goes for running, although it is tiring and there is work to be finished, you will still run because it is already a habit for you to run 3 times a week.

The key to creating a habit are three components: cue, routine and reward. First, you must determine a cue for the desired action. The cue could be a specific time or an object that reminds you to carry out the action. For example, you could set an alarm or you could put your workout clothes next to your bed.

Next is the routine, which is the desired action you will be doing e.g. running. Before that you will have to set a reward to motivate yourself to perform the routine consistently. It could be having a piece of chocolate or watching your favorite TV show after running. It could be anything you like. You would carry out the routine for a month, which is the time needed to form a habit. It is important that you do it consistently for the first month, otherwise the habit would not form.

Additional article on New Year's Resolution:

http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick