Here’s How I Actually Achieved My New Year’s Resolutions

I love New Year’s resolutions. While some people find most resolutions silly and unachievable, I have experienced a very high success rate of achieving my resolutions, once I learned to make my goals realistic and measurable.

When making resolutions to improve, whether at the New Year or any other time, it helps to set realistic and measurable goals to ensure you set yourself up for success.

The most effective goals are SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. It’s great to decide you want to make a positive change, but to make the change stick, it should follow these principles.

Specific: Create goals that are specific and clear. 

Create goals that are specific, rather than a generic wish list. You will need to answer, “What do I want to accomplish, and why?” This specificity should drive to the core purpose of you want to achieve, and help you identify what steps you need to take to reach your goal. Use these steps to create mini-goals as achievable milestones along the way.

Example: If you want to advance in your career, what specific roles are you targeting and what skills do you need to accomplish them? Once you identify your target, think about the steps you need to take and create mini-goals. For career advancement, these might be classes you want to take, business experiences to seek out, or mentorship to help you refine and broaden your skill sets.

Measurable: Set objectives that you can track. 

Can your goal be measured? Most likely, yes. Identify metrics to help you quantify your achievements. These metrics will allow you to assess your progress, which will help keep you motivated and on track. 

Example: Identify metrics to measure your progress, e.g. # of online classes taken, # of applications submitted, # of physical exercises completed, % change in progress, or $X money saved per week. If you can measure it, you’re more likely to achieve your goal, so figure out a metric or two, and keep track!

Achievable: Identify goals that provide a challenge, while still remaining realistic and attainable. 

An achievable goal will answer the question, “How will I accomplish this?” I fully support reaching for the moon, but do make sure you set yourself up for success. To set a realistic goal that you can achieve, think about what steps—or mini-goals—you must take to reach it.

Example: If you’re in mid-level management and you want to rise to the C-suite, take time to identify the steps you’ll need to take to reach that level. Don’t limit yourself, but do make a realistic assessment of the specific experiences and education that you need to achieve your goal. Once you’ve identified those mini-goals, make a plan to achieve to them. 

Relevant: To pick a relevant goal, you should answer the question, “Why does this matter?”

If you're going to take the time to achieve new goals, you'll want to ask yourself, "Is this resolution worth the time and effort to attain?" If not, think about impact you want to achieve. This will help you identify a new strategic goal that will add value to your life or business.

Example: Raising a specific amount of money for a nonprofit is a nice goal, but the real focus should be on impact. The value driven is far more important than the amount of money raised.

Timely: Set goals with a target date by which you want to achieve them.  

A specific deadline can help you create milestones to check your progress. Work backwards to set realistic mini-goals that will make it easier for you to achieve your goal.           

Example: If you want to find a new job, set a realistic timeline for your search. Within that timeline, work backwards to create meaningful milestones or mini-goals, e.g. resume updated, # of applications completed, # of conversations with people who can help you (classmates, mentors, Talent Acquisition personnel).

If you’re interested in finding a new position, check out my top 5 tips to land your dream job.

When you create SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) goals, you become much more likely to achieve them. Write your goals and mini-goals down, and have fun checking off your list. You will feel accomplished, and you will be well on your way to achieving your dreams!

Our Resolutions

At Suitcase of Joy, we set SMART New Year’s resolutions. In 2021, we intend to:

• Support education for over 100 orphans who are not currently in school

• Build a school in a remote village in Africa to enable more children to obtain a quality education

• Distribute over 1,000 toys and soccer balls to bring joy to children living in poverty

• Distribute over 1,000 school supplies, books, food, and other essentials to support underserved children in Africa

What are your goals this year? 

Pay it Forward

If you found this article helpful, please consider paying it forward and helping a child obtain an education. A gift of $25 can provide toys and valuable school supplies to 5 children in Africa.

About the Author: Brittany Blackamore is a Management Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). She also serves as the CEO and Founder of Suitcase of Joy, a nonprofit organization that delivers school supplies, toys, and other essentials to underserved children in Africa. Prior to joining BCG, Brittany worked as a Director of Strategy and oversaw a global team at Experian. Brittany earned her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at UCLA Anderson School of Management, where she also earned a Specialization in Global Management. Brittany earned her Bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from Pepperdine University.