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“To make positive changes in your life – whether on January 1 or any day of the year – you need to set yourself up for success for the long haul,” writes Margie Warrell in an article on the Forbes magazine website. Here’s one strategy she offers to increase the odds of keeping your New Year’s resolutions:

“Narrow Your Focus
Aiming high is great, but deciding you want to run a marathon, get your MBA, change jobs and have a third child can leave you bouncing about like Tigger on Red Bull, not quite sure which direction you are going. Instead, set yourself up for success by focusing on one major goal at a time, not twenty-one.”

Another strategy for becoming more motivated in the New Year is learning to “honor the essential self.” This is the name of an article by Ruth Wilson that forms the basis for an Out of the Box Training Kit. While Wilson’s thoughts are meant to apply to children, they can be equally as helpful to adults. Wilson writes that “without a doubt, we all face…conflicts relating to individual interest versus group interests…At times, something deeper comes into play…This deeper realm has to do with our ‘essential’ self and our ‘social self’ – that is, a self reflecting the core of our individuality and a self in relation to others. We’re born with our essential self. Our social self develops over time.” Wilson describes how the social self develops in relation to the “pressures from people around us…while behaviors of the essential self tend to be inventive, spontaneous, reflecting the uniqueness of the individual.” As Wilson explains, both selves are necessary, but finding the correct balance between the two keeps us feeling motivated and excited about life.

Source: “Done With New Year’s Resolutions? Seven Steps to Stay Motivated for the Long Haul,” by Margie Warrell, forbes.com, January 1, 2018

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