As I sit here and type this we are into the last few days of January.  Most people start the year with a bang.  Big ideas, big goals, big resolutions.  One of the best things about the holiday break is it gives most of us a chance to step back, find some quiet time so that we can reflect and come up with those big ideas, goals and resolutions.

The problem is that once we get back to “normal” early in the New Year the real world can easily push us off plan and we lose any momentum we came out of the break with.

As you probably have heard around 80% of New Year’s Resolution fail before February 1.  

I thought I would offer a few tips to help you not become a statistic and lose sight of what you want to achieve in 2025.

1. Be as specific as you can be – Don’t just say I will read more.  In fact, even saying I will read a certain number of books this year is too general (six months can go by and you haven’t read a book, but you could still be “on track” technically).  This approach works best if you say you will read a certain number of pages, chapters, or for a specific amount of time each day.  You can measure that and you will know if you are doing it or not, and you have to make daily progress.  
2. Be realistic – If you only get an average of 2,000 steps a day, set your goal at 5,000 instead of 10,000.  You are far more likely to hit it and you can always up the goal later on, once 5,000 if your norm.  
3. Tell people about it – Share your goal or resolution with other people and ask them to hold you accountable.  I don’t exactly know why but humans seem to have a much easier time letting themselves down than they do other people.
4. Don’t Miss Twice – This one is directly attributable to the awesome book Atomic Habits by James Clear.  Nobody is perfect and things will knock you off track sometimes.  Don’t give up or beat yourself up if you miss a daily goal.  It is bound to happen.  But just don’t miss twice in a row and you will be far more likely to get where you want to go.  

I hope that you started the year with big ambitions and that you have made it this far.  Know that you are in the top 20% if you have.  Hopefully the tips shared will help you keep moving forward, or if you fell off, will get you thinking about getting back into things so you can make 2025 the best year it can be!!!!