Are you ready to learn 4 secrets to making New Years resolutions that stick? January is a great time to start thinking about all the amazing things that you want to accomplish in 2018, but the trick is finding ways to stick with your resolutions.

Unfortunately, many people break their resolutions because they don't have a well-designed plan for success, nor do they prepare for the challenges that come with changing bad habits.  Research has shown that about half of all adults make New Years resolutions. However, fewer than 10% manage to keep them for more than a few months.

The good news is that you don't have to fall into this trap because I am here to share with you 4 secrets to making New Years resolutions that stick, so that you can confidently crush your goals in 2018!

Are you ready to start living every day with confidence, passion, and energy? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery course!

Bad habits can be hard to break. Most of us can relate to this, whether that means trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or ditching coffee. Samuel Johnson once said, “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt, until they are too strong to be broken.”

The question remains, “If we know that bad habits aren't good for us, then why do we struggle to let them go?” New research by Duke University scientists suggests that a habit leaves a lasting mark on specific circuits in the brain, priming us to feed our cravings.

Changing habits comes down to willpower, and we all have it! Just like a muscle, it needs to be conditioned. Let's explore 4 secrets to making New Years resolutions that stick:

1. Fully Commit

Have you ever wondered why some people keep with their New Years resolutions, while others fail? It all comes down to commitment. Merely saying that you are going to change isn't enough. You need to take action.

Once you commit, create a realistic plan and write down what it is that you are going to do. A great way to hold yourself accountable to your New Years resolutions is to create a commitment contract, which has been found to have measurable effects when it comes to achieving personal goals.

Moreover, if you want to double your chances of reaching your goals, add a monetary component. One study found that people who had a financial incentive to lose weight lost 14 pounds more than those didn't have such incentives.

2. Set SMART Goals

The reason why a lot of people don't follow through with their New Years resolutions is that they are too general and not specific. If one of your resolutions is, “to lose some weight,” you won't get far.

The first step to changing any behavior is understanding what it is that you want to change. The best way to be 100% clear on what your resolutions are is to set S.M.A.R.T. goals, meaning ones that are smart, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

According to research by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham, people who followed goals that were both specific and challenging led to higher performance 90% of the time. By setting S.M.A.R.T. resolutions, it will give you an endpoint to move towards, thereby setting you up for success.

3. Start Small

Let's face it…changing a bad habit can be hard work. Everyone has attempted to start a new habit and failed at least once. Why? Oftentimes, it's because their goals were too big.

Start small and focus on simple mini habits. For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds, commit to 30 minutes at the gym 2 times/week, and then slowly increase the amount over time. When you remove the pressure and expectations that come with changing old patterns of behavior, it gives you the motivation that you need to stick with it.

In the words of psychologist Lynn Bufka, “Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important, and working toward it, one step at a time.” Don't ever forget that small wins eventually transform into big gains over time.

4. Find An Accountability Partner

It's a lot easier to follow through with your New Years resolutions when you have someone in your corner, cheering you on, especially when you feel like giving up. Breaking a promise to yourself is one thing, but it's far harder to let someone else down.

According to a study at the Dominican University of California, more than 70% of the participants who wrote down their goals and then sent weekly updates to a friend reported successful goal achievement. Of those participants who created a goal and kept it to themselves, only 35% were successful.

Stop procrastinating and share your goals with a friend, colleague, or loved one. Having an accountability partner is one of the best ways to stay consistent and motivated so that you continually make progress towards your goals.

These are 4 secrets to making New Years resolutions that stick. What're your New Years resolutions? If you haven't already, I encourage you to sit down and make a list of the lifestyle changes that you want to make this year. This is the beginning of anything you want. Don't be afraid to dream big.

Are you ready to start living every day with confidence, passion, and energy? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery course!

I want to teach you how to develop habits of success. Your success in life is determined, in part, by the decisions that you make on a daily basis, otherwise known as your habits.

Habits are powerful. They define who we are, and in doing so, have the ability to control the direction that our lives take. We are driven to seek routines in our daily lives because they are deemed as ‘safe.’ New habits that pose as a threat to our sense of security can be stressful.

Change isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Any new habit takes time, commitment and hard work to develop. However, once you do something consistently, it becomes easier to integrate it into your daily life.

A new study from MIT neuroscientists has found that a small region of the brain’s prefrontal cortex, where most thought and planning occurs, is responsible for moment-by-moment control of which habits are switched on at a given time. This study offers hope that it is possible to break bad habits.

In the words of Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Are you ready to break your bad habits and replace them with habits of success?

Watch the video below:

(Click here to watch on YouTube)

[smart_track_player url=”http://www.buzzsprout.com/9299/544963-plm-456-how-to-develop-habits-of-success.mp3″ background=”default” ]

Do you want to learn how to develop habits of success? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery course!

Below are 3 strategies that will help you develop habits of success:

1. Change One Habit At A Time

Changing one routine requires an immense amount of willpower and commitment, let alone multiple ones. A lot of people struggle with building new habits because they make them either too big or too difficult.

There have been extensive studies that show that it’s impossible to change multiple habits because ego depletion kicks in, which leaves our willpower in a mentally weakened state. I believe that the best time to develop new habits of success is the morning, as part of your morning ritual. This is when your willpower is the strongest.

The best way to integrate new habits into your life is to make small, incremental changes every day. In the words of Seth Godin, “Your audacious life goals are fabulous. We're proud of you for having them. But it's possible that those goals are designed to distract you from the thing that's really frightening you—the shift in daily habits that would mean a re–invention of how you see yourself.”

2. Commit To A 30 Day Challenge

Committing to a 30 day challenge is a great way to develop habits of success. Research shows that it requires a minimum of 21 days for an old mental image to dissolve and a new one to jell. It will take the same amount of time for a new habit to develop.

I’ve done 30 day challenges around exercising, waking up early, scheduling my time, and building my business. Every day I practice and develop one habit. By the end of that 30 days, the habit has successfully integrated itself into my daily life.

An accountability partner helps you stay committed to your 30 day challenge. He or she will motivate you to achieve the goal(s) that you set for yourself. Bob Proctor said it best, “Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results.”

I created a 30 day morning ritual challenge for my Morning Ritual Mastery course members, wherein which over a 30 day period I have them make a daily post on their social media about the one habit that they carried out as part of their morning ritual. Having a support network in place is a powerful way to form healthy, long-lasting habits.

3. Reward Yourself

Every time you do something positive, celebrate yourself. An action needs to be repeated in order for it to become a habit, which is why it’s really important that you reward yourself each time you practice a new habit.

When you take time every day to acknowledge the small actions that you took towards your goals, you strengthen those actions. Whatever you reward, gets repeated.

In the words of Jonas Salk, “The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more.”

These are 3 strategies that will help you develop habits of success. Positive habits create the energy that fuels success in life. Commit to having daily morning rituals. One positive change in your life will motivate you to implement even more habits. It all begins with one small win!

Do you want to learn how to develop habits of success? CLICK HERE to join my Morning Ritual Mastery course!