Every year millions of people make New Years resolutions but very few are able to keep their new commitments.  To be more exact, 88% of people fail to achieve their New Years resolutions.  A classic example that the fitness industry is very familiar with is the resolution to exercise in the New Year.  January is the best month for sales of exercise equipment and memberships to fitness clubs.  If you go to any fitness club around the country at this time of the year it will be absolutely packed.  By the time March comes around, the place is empty.  The fitness industry understands this trend very well, and that is why you see so many related commercials and promotions this time of the year.

So why do New Years resolutions fail?  The answer is quite simple:  change is hard.  Most New Years resolutions require some change to your habits and day-to-day routine, so unless you follow a change management framework it is not likely that you will succeed in making the necessary changes to reach your goal.

Most people set New Years resolutions without thinking much about how they will go about making the required changes.  They think that by the simple force of their will they can make significant changes to their habits – but we all know that it rarely works that way.  Let’s look at the components of a well thought-out change program that you should incorporate into your New Years resolution to make it a success:

Set the Vision

The first step in creating a successful New Years resolution is setting a vision.  We are talking about a very clear, specific, focused vision.  If your goal is to lose weight, how much weight will you lose exactly?  How will you look after losing the weight?  If you have a picture of you in your desired weight, use the picture to help you set the vision.  The clearer the vision is in your mind the more likely you are to succeed.

Create an Emotional Attachment

The best way to improve the chances of succeeding with your New Years resolution is to create an emotional attachment to your goal.  Back to the weight loss example, maybe there is a particular piece of clothing that has a special significance to you but you haven’t been able to fit into it for years.  Think about how it would feel to wear that outfit again.  Or maybe there is a special trip that brings you childhood memories that you have wanted to take but have not been able to save enough money for.  Think about those memories.  The stronger the emotional attachment the better.   By bringing the emotions associated with your goal to the forefront your chances of success increase dramatically.

Communicate Your Intention to Change

By communicating your intention to change you create a stronger commitment to it.  Tell your friends and family members what you are doing and why.  Write down your goal and keep track of your progress.  Create a visualization board with pictures of your desired state.  Celebrate each successful step towards your goal by placing a symbolic mark on your board: a star, a plus sign, fireworks – whatever fits your personality.  The trick here is to make a big deal out of your goal.  Communicate it broadly and often.  The more you do it, the more committed you will be.  The more committed you are, the higher the chances of success.

Setup Your Support Mechanisms

Inevitably you will find obstacles to achieving your goals.  Life has a tendency of getting in the way, and you may get discouraged when that happens.  So it is important to create a support mechanism to help you along.  This could be in the form of a coach, a mentor, a personal trainer, or even just a friend.

Going back to the weight loss example, people that use a personal trainer have a much higher degree of success in losing weight than people that don’t.  This is not necessarily due to the fact that the personal trainer has some unique knowledge that the trainee does not already possess.  The higher degree of success is due to the fact that the personal trainer is there to support the individual, to provide encouragement, and to keep him or her motivated.  Setting up a support mechanism is key to achieving your goal.

Make It Convenient

It is highly unlikely that you will keep up with a change that is inconvenient to you.  For instance, if you want to exercise more but getting to the gym requires getting out of your way, or disrupting your family time, your attempt will likely fail.  It is very important to find a way to make the change as convenient as possible.  For example, find a fitness center that is very close to your work, and go there first thing in the morning on your way to work, or during lunch time.  If you want to start eating healthier foods, get rid of all the bad stuff from your refrigerator and stock up on healthy foods.  If you wait until you get hungry to go find something healthy to eat you will likely give in to the temptation of eating the food that is readily available.

This principle applies to any area of change.  Make the change as painless as you can possibly make it so that you will stick with it even when you don’t feel like it.

Reward Yourself

It is important to keep yourself motivated.  One of the ways to accomplish this is to reward yourself as you reach certain milestones towards your goals.  Set those milestones ahead of time and decide what you are going to reward yourself with as you reach them.  The milestones don’t need to be difficult to achieve and the rewards can be simple.  But make sure you don’t skip this important motivational step to achieve the success you desire.

Make it a New Habit

Finally, you should aim to make you changed behavior into a habit.  When you get to the point where you just do it without even thinking much about it, you are on your way to success.  The key here is to keep the motivating factors strong, including your support mechanism and the rewards mentioned above so that you don’t fall back into your old habits.

By following the simple but critical steps above you will likely be part of the 12% of people who actually succeed in achieving their New Years resolutions.