Can you use brain hacks for keeping your New Year’s Resolutions  (aka, goals)? Absolutely!  You will be more successful if you put yourself in the right frame of mind.

Even if you skip the whole New Year’s resolution tradition, you may still want to read this article since the information applies equally to other goals, both personal and professional. (“A rose by any other name…”)

Choose wisely: Limit yourself to one significant goal/resolution that is truly important to you. If you’re having trouble choosing, writing out a list of pros/cons for each may help.

Commit publicly: Consult others who know you well and ask them to help you choose a resolution you have a good shot at keeping. Then enlist their support. Distance yourself from any nay-sayers, and monitor your negative self-talk.

Break it down: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. It’s the same with goals. They need to be whittled down to manageable steps.

Measure your progress: Check items off a list or cross out days on the calendar or any other way you want to keep track. A sense of accomplishment will keep you motivated and lead to taking yet another positive step forward.

Visualize your success: Create a vision board, create an appropriate screen saver, post sticky-notes on your bathroom mirror, etc.  Whatever it takes to keep your goal in your line of vision and on your mind. Check out DesignWizard.com which has all kinds of ideas for helping you create an online vision board.

Celebrate your success: Be careful, however, that your celebration doesn’t entail anything that will sabotage your goal. E.g. rewarding yourself with a cookie may not be the best way to celebrate if you’re trying to shed pounds.

Be kind to yourself: In the words of St. Teresa of Avila, “Today, may there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.”

Here’s a suggestion. Make one of your New Year’s resolutions to be, “get prepared for disasters“!

Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous 2020!