The percentage of successful New Year's resolutions varies, but most people don't stick to their goals. Some studies say that less than 10% of people achieve their resolutions.

January is an incredible month. It’s a time of year when human optimism seems to be at its peak. People are excited about setting their resolutions/goals/intentions for the year - but the real challenge comes with the follow-up.

From what I’ve learned, most failures occur when people fail to create a system to ensure their goals are accomplished.

So, if you actually want to take big steps toward your goals this year, use this guide to create systems that set you up for success.

Systems are simple to create, and odds are, you’ve created them in the past.

At the very least, you’ve had them created for you.

Such as in school - The goal is to do well in a class and learn certain key concepts. But you are not left to accomplish that on your own. The system is the periodic assignments and checkpoints along the way.

Now, as adults, we need to create our own systems.

Here’s how, in 5 steps:

Step 1: Write down your list of goals

Research shows that simply writing down your goals (rather than just thinking about them) improves your likelihood of success by 42%.

Once you have your goals written down, prioritize them and make them measurable.

Step 2: Turn your goals into key daily or weekly tasks

Next, you’ll want to break your goals down into actionable tasks you can do either daily or weekly.

Step 3: Link tasks to a specific time of day or “Habit stack”

Here’s where we start building the system into our life. Find either a specific block of time to do the tasks, or link the tasks to a habit you already have.

Step 4: Create feedback loops

Every good system requires feedback loops to ensure things stay on track. These need to be structured, and not rely on our motivation/willpower.. which are inconsistent.

Step 5: Visualize Obstacles and plan for them

This final step is a key step to ensuring long-term success. Whether or not you intentionally do this, may be the difference between success and failure.

Visualization is a very effective tactic to improve motivation and success. Still, the power of visualization comes not from simply visualizing your desired outcome, but from visualizing all the steps along the way, and potential obstacles that may arise.

One simple strategy I’ve learned to do this is called the WOOP method.

The WOOP method was developed by Dr. Gabriele Oettingen and is based on scientific evidence. It's designed to help people foster positive thinking while also realistically addressing challenges.

Here is how to use the WOOP method:

1. Wish: Consider what you truly want to achieve.

2. Outcome: Imagine what success will look and feel like.

3. Obstacle: Think about what could get in your way. (specifically think about the tasks you identified you need to do)

4. Plan: Create a plan for how you'll overcome obstacles. You can use if/then statements to outline proactive and reactive strategies.

By following these steps, you can be in the less than 10% of people that actually achieve their resolutions.

This process, once you know your goals, can be done in less than 30 minutes, and it can completely change your life.

This success will increase your confidence and motivation and help you win in other areas of your life as well: health, wealth, relationships, etc.

If you’d like help building a fail-proof system, click here to schedule a free 15-minute Strategy session with me where I can help you with this.

These calls are obligation-free, but I do have resources and offers for those ready to take the next step.

To your growth and success,

Coach Widmarc ☀️

Tuesday’s Transformative Thoughts