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If you’re anything like me, your end-of-the-year shopping cart always includes a planner for the upcoming year with the cutest design available. It’s motivation, right? Inspired by the manifesting guide you saw on TikTok earlier that day, you fill out the first page with all the goals and objectives you’ve set for your future self in the next year - the future self that is going to be 100% more organized, responsible, fitter, productive, and sleeps 8.5 hours every single night…no pressure. Does this sound like you?
January rolls around and suddenly, all your motivation and willpower don’t equate to action the way you thought they might. As weeks go by, you feel like you’ve failed yourself by ordering your third takeout this week and letting another bag of greens in your fridge go to waste. You get the dreaded notification that your screen time is up 20% from last week and that you’ve failed to close the rings on your Apple watch.
By June, the cute planner ends up in the trash and you’re back to reactive weekly resets rather than long-term goals. The savings you benefited from by investing in an annual gym membership instead of incurring monthly fees has largely gone untouched, and you’re feeling like you’ve betrayed the version of yourself you earnestly set out to obtain. Depressing isn’t it?
They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. From my own experience, I’d say that expecting your 2023-self to be 100% better in every single aspect of life is unrealistic and nerve-wracking. How about we reduce our perfectionist and conditioned expectations a little bit (or by 98%, to be exact), and see where that gets us? Are you in? Let’s talk about how being 1% better every dayis far more sustainable and effective in the long run than lofty goals that require a full lifestyle overhaul.
The best way of breaking the vicious cycle of abandoning New Year's resolutions is to choose small & sustainable habits over hacks. Hacks are temporary, unsustainable solutions that provide short-lived results. Hacks also leave out important details like motivation, time management, and the skills needed to be successful in the long term.
In contrast, sustainable habit forming involves lasting changes that gradually make a bigger impact over time. So how do you go about creating these? Well, there are a few key factors that will make all the difference:
Start small and build up gradually. The best way to form a habit is to start off slowly and gradually increase the difficulty as you go. This will help your brain adapt to the new habit and make it more likely that you'll keep doing it over time.
Find a way to enjoy the process. Many people quit their habits because they get bored and don’t really enjoy the journey. Being process oriented has its place. This might mean finding an app to help you track your progress, or setting up micro-rewards for each time you practice your new habits or reach a milestone along the way. Getting granular is important.
Set realistic goals and make small changes as needed. We're all prone to over-committing when it comes to resolutions, which makes it much more likely that we'll end up falling short. Instead, try setting small goals for yourself and then modifying them as needed to stay on track. Try writing down all the goals you have in mind for 2023, then scale down these ambitious plans by 20%, and see what happens when you make your vision a little bit more realistic.
Drop the all-or-nothing mentality. While it can be tempting to quit if you miss a day or fall off the wagon, the truth is that taking the occasional "break" from your habit can actually help you stick with it in the long term. So avoid falling into an all-or-nothing mentality when it comes to your resolutions, and instead focus on making sustainable changes throughout the year. Going hard in the gym doesn’t mean going against your body’s signals - rest is just as important as the work you do. Also, a single cheat meal doesn’t mean all your progress is ruined - just pick up where you left off and avoid interpreting a single bump in the road as a failure. Be mechanical, not emotional.
What if I told you that a single resolution can change your entire perception of the upcoming year? Now that we’ve established that perfection is the enemy of good progress, we can agree that working towards being 1% better every day is a sustainable technique for achieving your goals.
The 1% better everyday philosophy means taking baby steps in all the important aspects you want to improve in the upcoming year. Want to drop 15 lbs by summer for example? Let’s replace the idea of depriving yourself of everything you love with the concept of balanced eating. Would you like to introduce a morning jog into your daily routine? Start with a slower pace and shorter routes instead of overdoing it the first morning.
When you begin to look at your goals in terms of daily improvement, it’s easier to stay the course. And let’s face it – nothing feels better than those daily dopamine hits that give us a sense of progress and accomplishment.
So why not set aside just a few minutes each day to plan ahead? Take a look at your goals and make a list of the most realistic steps you can take every day to move closer to them. Perhaps you could start by committing to going for a walk four times a week, or setting up a mastermind group with like-minded people in order to keep each other accountable.
Whatever your specific resolution might be, remember that small daily improvement is what matters. After all, it’s incremental changes and small habits that will add up to big results over time. So let’s kick off this year with the 1% better everyday philosophy! After all, that’s 365% better over a year. 1% adds up. Soon you’ll realize how empowering and worthwhile it is to consistently work towards achieving your goals each day, or as the French say “Une etape a la fois”.
James Clear’sNew York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, has quickly become a game changer in the world of setting and reaching goals. James Clear explores, through his own experiences and studies, what it takes to make a habit stick. James is a writer, speaker, and now a bestselling author with a degree in biomechanics. He highlights principles that can help you develop good habits and break bad ones. The book draws upon cutting-edge science as well as practical experience – but it also lays out several theories about habits that appear to be false.
While Atomic Habits should definitely be added to your cart next to that cute 2023 planner, here’s a quick breakdown of the main principles explained in the book[1]:
If your goal is to lose weight, change your diet or start exercising, you probably know it won't happen overnight. Start with making more balanced meals by substituting healthy alternatives for your current choices. For example, trade fried chicken for grilled, or replace creamer in your coffee with low-fat options. Additionally, start moving every day by finding an activity you enjoy instead of forcing yourself into grueling workouts. Remember that walking is one of the most therapeutic, yet effective weight loss tools!
The key to creating an optimal lifestyle is to adopt new, healthy habits one step at a time. This will allow you to gradually make long-lasting adjustments, so they eventually become ingrained in your day-to-day life without too much hassle and stress. One strategy for doing this is to take baby steps towards your goals consistently--something as simple as drinking more water or eating more vegetables each day can be a great way to start. Additionally, you can consider using apps or techniques, such as daily journaling, to help you keep track of your progress and achieve more consistency in the behaviors that will have the greatest long-term impact on your physical and mental health. By taking small but consistent actions, you can improve your quality of life one habit at a time!
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