Ep.33: New Year - Hit the Reset Button!

 

We've all had the experience of getting swept up in making New Year's resolutions only to forget about them or let our great plans fizzle out when we lose interest or aren't sure how to move forward with our New Year's resolution goals.

 

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited to put 2020 behind me and watch the ball drop to ring in 2021 (hopefully the ball will not burst into flames as it drops or detach itself and roll through the streets of NYC… Yeah. We all know it's been that kind of year).

 

For 2021, I'm excited to set some new years resolutions and goals of things I want to achieve and good habits I'd like to start this year. And I want to KEEP those resolutions and hit my goals, dangit, so in this episode, I'll go over the best methods for setting goals or resolutions that you'll be a lot more likely to keep in 2021.

 

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Show Transcript:

 

Intro

 

Welcome to the Go Find Out Podcast, Episode number 33! I'm your host, Jennifer Jelliff-Russell. On today's episode, I'm going tell you how to more effectively use the New Year as a jumping off point to start moving toward your goals. This isn't another, "Make some New Year's resolutions" message. We all know that those usually only last until about February before you fall back into old habits. So instead, we're gonna talk about how to set new years resolutions that will actually stick.

 

Before that, I do want to let you know that one of the changes I'm making this New Year is in this podcast. If you've been listening to the last few episodes, you know I've been shifting things in the show here and there, changing the update section to be a "what I'm loving this week" segment, and then seeing what it would be like to drop the update or what I'm loving segment altogether.

 

This change for the new year will be a little bit bigger shift. The thing is, I really want to optimize what you listeners get out of this podcast, so I've decided to flip the dynamic a little and do more solo episodes with less guest interviews. Don't worry, I'll still have great guests on the show! But I'm going to see what you think of getting 1 awesome guest a month and then having the rest of the shows be shorter, more concise solo shows with actionable advice for how to deal with all the bullshit that gets in your way when you're going after you goals.

 

There may also be a little more cursing… we'll see.

 

Okay, with that said, let's jump into this new year, you know, the one that seemed like it would never get here, and talk about why New Years resolutions don't tend to work as well as what you can do to beat the odds of getting into new habits that will move you closer to your goals.

 

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Main show

 

First off, welcome to the new year, 2021. I think we're all ready for something a little better than the shitshow we've had in 2020, right?

 

And, since it's the new year, you might have gotten swept up in the whole, New Year, New You, mantra. And hey, there's nothing wrong with wanting to make some positive changes in your life. I think it's great to set goals and start working toward them! That's what this show is all about!

 

But, and it's a big but, most people don't keep their new year's resolutions. And it's not because they're weak or lazy or just don't care. It's because they don't set realistic resolutions that have achievable, specific goals. And those are three very different aspects of a resolution or goal:  Realistic, Actionable, and Specific

Let's look at those aspects individually.

 

• Make it Realistic

First, your goal or resolution needs to be Realistic. Basically, it needs to be something that's actually achievable. And this is not just me raining on your parade. I'm never going to be the person who tells you that you can't do something, but I will tell you if something is unlikely to be accomplished within a timeframe.

 

For example, if I set a goal to write 20 books next year, that's just not really a realistic goal for me. I mean, maybe make it happen if the books were really short? But honestly, even then, I'd have to be glued to my computer doing nothing but writing all day. I'd have to give up this podcast, and I'd certainly have to give up the idea of building a youtube channel, podcast, and courses for Evergrowth Coach. So for me, writing that many books is simply not realistic.

 

So, when setting your new year's goals, ask yourself if your goals are really realistic. Will you really have enough time to achieve what you want? If so, go ahead and actually add that thing into your schedule. After all, if it's a realistic goal then it should fit into your schedule.

 

• Make it Specific

The second thing to watch for when setting New Years goals is to make sure they are Specific. You won't want to just say something like, "I want to eat healthier this year." What does that really mean? Heck at any given time, there's a new dieting trend that's considered healthy. How will you actually decide what "eating healthy" means when it comes time to start?

 

Instead, make your resolution specific. You might say, I'm going to eat a serving of vegetables and a serving of fruit once a day. Or maybe eating healthy might consist of giving up meat. Or maybe it's making yourself dinner every night. Or maybe it's adding a few salads as your meals. Whatever it is be specific.

 

Another example of being specific with your new year's resolution could be working out. Just saying, "I'm going to work out more" isn't specific enough. But if you say instead, I'm going to work out 3 times a week for at least 15 minutes each time then you're being specific AND realistic if that 15 minutes fits into your daily schedule.

 

• Make it Actionable

Lastly, in order to be successful in achieving your new years resolution, your resolution needs to be actionable. You need to be able to take steps toward that goal. For example, winning the lottery is a terrible new year's resolution. I mean, it would be great if you win, but the only step you can take toward winning is to buy lottery tickets… and, that's kind of it, right? Once you've bought the tickets, you're left to just twiddle your thumbs and wait.

 

Instead, you want to set a New Year's resolution that allows you to take action toward achieving it. For example, if you wanted to run a marathon by the end of the year, then your first step would be to set up a training plan (or have someone help you set up a training plan) with milestones along the way like a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, and finally the marathon. Your actionable steps would consist of setting up the plan and then running every day that your plan tells you to.

 

Starting a business, your actionable steps might be speaking with a business coach or Small Business Administration representative to get started.

 

Starting a podcast, your actionable steps might be deciding what kind of podcast you want to start, coming up with a name, a logo, and a description, then writing content to record. (Yes, there are more steps than that but those are a just a few.)

 

Setting an actionable new year's resolution is all about setting a goal that you can start taking steps toward right away. And if you pair that with making sure your goal is realistic as well as specific, you're well on your way to successfully achieving your new years resolutions!

 

And actually, I'd love to hear some of your New Year's resolutions! You can DM me on Instagram @GoFindOutPodcast and let me know!

 

My Goal

I know one of my new years resolutions is to run a half-marathon in 2021 since I didn't do it this year. So I've signed up for the Maine Half-Marathon in Portland. I definitely have some training to do since I'm only doing 3 miles again. Time to set up a training plan!

 

Next Week

Alright, that's all for today! I hope you're having a happy new year so far! Join me next week when I interview Monika Jazyk about her journey in building passive income through real estate investments!

 

Until then, Go Find Out!