Position yourself for success with New Year’s resolutions

Like scores of others, Shanna McCann has set some goals for 2021 as the owner of goat milk soap business Simple Soaps for Simple Folks in Byron.
“My goals for 2021 are to be more mindful of the things that cause me stress, and to address the root causes of the stress,” McCann said.
Lots of people form New Year’s resolutions as McCann has done, but fewer follow through and find success with achieving them.
“Often people are too lofty or non-specific,” said Allison Roe of Mindful Movement with Allison, which is based in Rochester with clients throughout southeast Minnesota. “When goals are too broad, it is difficult to know when you’ve reached them. When people achieve their goals, it’s often because they’ve explored why they want the desired results. There is meaning and passion behind their vision, and they’ve broken their goal into smaller, achievable steps.”
Roe, a yoga teacher and mindset coach, suggests people take time to explore the intention behind their resolution. “What is the driving force for this change? By tapping into the bigger vision and writing it down somewhere you can see it every day, it will be easier to weather the rough moments. It isn’t enough to say ‘I want to be healthier,’” Roe said. “Why do you want to be healthy? What does that look like? What would being healthy allow you to do?”
Secondly, Roe urges those with a new year’s resolution to set what are known as SMART Goals. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. She says people ought to start small, proving that they can make the goals they’ve set. Once you reach that goal, she advises you reset and go bigger.
“Goal setting and achieving is a practice, so practice many small goals rather than one giant one, and you may see greater successes,” Roe said.
For McCann, she has broken down her goal to be more mindful of things that cause her stress into smaller chunks. Areas she hopes to put this goal into practice are work flow and production processes, first. Secondly, ordering raw materials well in advance so her production is smooth and timely. And she plans to keep her paperwork better organized so that her year-end duties are less chaotic.
Roe said she sets goals for herself throughout the year, rather than only at the start of the new year. She also reassesses them and changes them as needed.
“I personally don’t use Jan. 1 as the best time to set goals/resolutions because there is so much outside pressure to do so,” Roe said. “My most achievable goals come from when I want to make them, not when the calendar changes.”
However, many people still subscribe to Jan. 1 as ‘the time’ to make big declarations of change in their life, Roe said. “But there is a growing number of people who are making big goals for themselves throughout the year,” she said.
Regardless of when you opt to set some new goals for yourself, be it in January or at another time of year, Roe says you should take your time when making resolutions.
“Let your dreams and resolutions simmer,” she said. “Do some journaling and reflecting on the reasons why. For me, it really comes down to intention. The stronger your desire for real, lasting change, the better your potential for change, no matter what day of the year it is.”