Using Psychology to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions & Goals
As we begin 2022, many people around the world are making New Year’s Resolutions — your humble author included! You know the drill. Eating better, losing weight, ending those bad habits; it seems everyone has tried on a New Year’s Resolution at some point.
In addition to resolutions, it’s also the season for setting business goals—and really, a resolution isn’t much different than a business goal, they just tend to be more personal.
Sadly, research shows the sad fact that only around 8% of people actually keep to their New Year’s Resolutions, and many business goals also fall short too. So what gives?
At 33Vincent we prioritize progress and productivity, so we decided to scour the internet for a solution to the New Year’s Resolution problem. We’ve gathered some of the most up-to-date scientific research and advice to help you stick to your good intentions. As a bonus, we found this advice applies directly to professional goals as well!
Step 1: Set SMART Goals, and Reward Yourself Often
Behavioral psychologist Dr. Paul Marciano recently told Forbes that SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound) are the best. Don’t be vague in your goals. “Get into shape” is less specific and measurable than “Lose 10 pounds.”
You must also be realistic, but that doesn’t mean to give up on your big aspirations. If you have a large goal, break it into smaller, easily achievable goals and perhaps most importantly reward yourself for completing them often!
New research shows that enjoyment was the strongest predictor of long-term success when making goals. Our brains seek reward, and immediate rewards almost always mentally outweigh long-term rewards. Through continued short-term rewards, it is much easier to make the decision to work toward your goal an automatic habit. This can apply to everything from exercise to your personal business goals.
Reward yourself every time you complete a part of your goal, or choose an enjoyable way to meet your goals! A good example for fitness is taking up a sport you enjoy instead of choosing a gym membership.
Step 2: Plan Ahead to Achieve Success
It’s very important to plan out the individual steps you’ll take to achieve your goals. You’ve definitely heard it before: “Who has the time?” Well, if you plan ahead and actually schedule whatever tasks are needed to further your goals, you’ll be able to find that time! Studies show that creating a specific plan to meet your goals frees up mental resources — and that people who plan more frequently meet their goals.
Another great way to put that time back into your schedule is to try out an Executive Assistant from 33Vincent. We strive to provide much more than your average virtual assistant. While the average virtual assistant is a task-taker, an Executive Assistant from 33Vincent specializes in time saving techniques like advanced scheduling, removing wasted time engaging with the daily onslaught of emails, and helping you manage your time more effectively. With a highly experienced 33Vincent Executive Assistant on your side, you’ll get back those precious hours so you can focus on what matters.
Step 3: Also Plan Ahead for Moments of Weakness
Another recent study showed that people who plan for moments of weakness are much more likely to overcome them than those who simply tried to ignore those impulses in the moment! Plan ahead for temptation by modifying your environment, distracting yourself, reappraising the current situation, or even removing yourself from situations where you might fail. As a bonus, making your alternatives enjoyable as noted above will help you withstand the temptation even more!
This could mean distracting yourself with something else enjoyable when you have a craving, going someplace cozy (but distraction-free) before you get distracted, or removing certain items from your environment altogether that might cause you to stray from your goal.
Step 4: Track Your Progress
We mentioned in Step One that big goals should be broken down into smaller ones. Not only does this mean they’re more trackable, but you also get more rewards. The brain is infamous for seeking out short-term rewards over long-term rewards, so if you’re not tracking your goals it’s easy to fail. After all, you haven’t felt any progress!
Tracking your progress through short-term goal setting is also key to understanding why or when you might fail, so you can plan ahead to modify behavior as in Step 2!
Of course - like all the other tips here - studies have shown that tracking your progress greatly increase chances of success.
Step 5: Have Others Hold You Accountable
It’s often hard to do things on our own. Making your goals public to family and friends or an accountability partner is critical.
But this process is often misunderstood, and then poorly implemented. Being accountable doesn’t mean setting yourself up to feel bad or embarrassed if you fail. It’s exactly the opposite. Instead, focus on having a partner that will pump you up when you succeed, and check in to remind you to keep succeeding!
Humans are social creatures, and many studies have shown that having social support is a key factor in success. Just like when you reward yourself for completing a part of your goal as part of Step 1, create a process where others also remind and reward you for your efforts as well.
Step 6: Start Again When You Fail–and Don’t Feel Bad About it!
Everyone fails eventually, but not everyone realizes that failure is an integral part of actually achieving your goals, as it helps you learn and move forward more successfully.
The trick here is not to beat yourself up over it. Those negative emotions we feel after failure release the stress hormone cortisol, which has been shown to hinder your general memory recall and simultaneously make you remember that specific event even more.
This means you’re likely remember the stress of your failures quite clearly, and that same stress also clouds your memories of success! Instead of feeling bad about failing, instead try to take an analytical approach and figure out why you failed and how to avoid that the next time. Focus on the positive reinforcement from steps 1 and 5 instead of the negatives of failure. Through positive reinforcement, negating the psychological effects of failure, learning, and trying again, you’ll actually be in much better shape to complete your goals or New Year's Resolutions in the future!
33Vincent Remote Executive Assistant Support is Here to Help
As we mentioned above, our Executive Assistant Support provides much more than a task-taking virtual assistant. We focus on highly efficient and evidence-based solutions to help you meet your goals–business or otherwise. Our Dedicated Executive Assistant Support goes above and beyond the scope of a normal virtual assistant.
Whether it’s a New Year’s Resolution or your next board meeting, a remote Executive Assistant from 33Vincent will help you meet and exceed your goals in a way a traditional virtual assistant cannot.
Interested in learning more about how an Executive Assistant can help your business? Learn more about our services here!
33Vincent has many other resources to help you maximize your time and communication with your executive assistant.
