Good intentions - how do you make them successfully?
At New Year, it is a tradition to make New Year's resolutions. Good intentions are better than their reputation. I've forgotten the statistics, but many are actually kept. At least if they are fairly specific.
A while ago, I explained how to make good resolutions in a way that maximises your chances of success in the Article Setting good goals described.
You can find a whole range of additional tips and tricks here. And the clear answer to the question of whether I make good resolutions for myself: definitely no.
Instead of good intentions for a year - projects for a limited time
A whole year is quite a long time. Even if New Year is a good turning point, 365 days or even 366 is a phase that requires quite a lot of staying power.
I plan my professional goals for a whole year and break them down into individual projects. I'm usually a little too ambitious, but I still achieve a lot of them. For example, I did that again at the Review of 2017 established .
Most of my personal good intentions tend to be shorter - in September, for example, I resolved to free my ship of 2000 items by the end of the year. I'm currently at 1613 - so there's still a bit to do before the end of the year. Oh. I forgot the 40 plates I gave away the other day. So 1653, phew.
Such projects are often more motivating than good intentions that you „have“ to keep for a whole year. Of course, you can also break down a big resolution into several small projects. This is often quite helpful for projects such as decluttering, sorting out files, etc.
Good habits instead of good intentions
Many of the things I resolve to do are more like practising new habits than classic good intentions. Coach Jon Butcher has said that a good habit, when practised over time, becomes a character. I think that's pretty cool to have a very practical way to shape my character.
Inspired by this, for example, I practised for a while consciously raising my head and looking at the person when they enter the room. Every now and then I forget, but overall I have become a slightly more attentive person by practising.
I am currently working on always asking myself questions after reading texts. I hope to become a more focussed and attentive person this week. And also to get more out of what I read.
Making good intentions easy
When it comes to sport, I often find that there is a certain discrepancy between my intentions and my motivation. As a coach, I know that you can't directly influence motivation. That's also common sense. You can't get anyone off the sofa with sentences like „now be a bit motivated“.
However, you can influence motivation indirectly by turning the three adjusting screws that together result in motivation - and thus make it as easy as possible for you to realise your good intentions.
- Sense: You can think about how you can see more meaning in something or consciously visualise the meaning you know.
- General conditions: You can change the environment, surroundings etc. to make it more comfortable. For example, I bought extra pyjamas that I can also jog in. I find it more pleasant to start running first thing in the morning without having to change beforehand. This has drastically increased my motivation.
- Skills: You are motivated when you do something that matches your own abilities and challenges them slightly. You can influence that. For example, I have tried to write more creatively than before and while walking - on a treadmill.
Good intentions need reminding
Once the year has progressed, good intentions often slip further back in my mind. That's why I create reminders for myself.
- Small, new habits, that I want to get into the habit of writing on a nice card that sits on my coffee table. At the moment, for example, it says „3 D“. It reminds me that I don't just want to move my limbs up and down, but around the room like a dancer. That makes me more agile.
- Lists to tick off or fill in in a place where I often see them help me with projects that are more extensive - e.g. writing 52 book chapters or minimising the flat by 2000 items. Seeing them grow motivates me to keep at it.
- Reminders in my to-do list. I use Todoist, because it is very slim and I have the option of entering tasks as daily or weekly. It says 5 minutes of sport every day, bless my country, 2 small marketing things. And every week I'm reminded of my good intentions to do some bookkeeping.
Anchoring good intentions in your gut
There are measurable goals - such as removing 2000 things from the home. But there are also behavioural goals. Researchers at the University of Zurich have discovered that a clearly formulated goal such as „I want to approach people more“ is not enough for the brain to be motivated and know what to do.
The brain, which thinks in images, reacts better to so-called „motto goals“. These are pictorial descriptions of how you want to behave. One of my goals is to act more strategically. My motto goal for this is
„Like a hunter, I carefully gather information that brings me closer to my prey!“
Also nice.
I have described the procedure in a compact and precise way in a blog post: „Setting and achieving goals“ for Down to Earth . And my coaching colleague Christoph Schalk has written a great training booklet / quadro about it. Achieving goals. How personal change succeeds.
I can recommend this to anyone who wants to achieve their good intentions and not just out of habit. Good luck!
