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3 Easy and Actionable Tactics to Stick to Your New Year Resolutions
According to research by the University of Scranton, 92% of people that set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them. Another study found out that about 80% of people fail to stick to their New Year’s Resolutions for longer than six weeks.
Here, I want to share three tactics I tried and found useful to achieve my goals.
James Clear, the author of the renowned book Atomic Habits, says, “There are all sorts of myths about how long it takes to build a new habit: 21 days, 30 days, 66 days. The truth is, there is nothing about time passing that magically forms a habit. Habits are created based on repetition and frequency, not by the clock ticking. “
1) Identity over Goals
Habits are not a finish line to be crossed; they’re a lifestyle to be lived. For example, my goal is to run a marathon, so I need to adopt the identity of a runner, and my other goal is writing every day, so I need to define my identity as a writer.
2) Define an atomic (simplest) version of the bigger goal and do it daily.
If your goal is to run a marathon, run every day at least for a mile or exercise for 30 minutes, if you want to become a writer, write at least 250 words every day. And never miss two days in a row.
