How to Make Your Resolution Stick: Take it One Goal at a Time

Want to achieve your New Year's resolution stick? Be successful at your goal to eat a mostly plant-based diet or other positive transformation? Here is the best coaching we know to get the job done, by a life coach who helps her clients transform their lives and eat healthier, feel better and be satisfied with the results. One hint-- don't load up all the goals all at once. You may be more successful if you determine what specific goal is the most important to you, and get that done first.

It's tempting, at the start of the year, to tell yourself you will get it all done: Lose weight, start saving money, quit drinking, go plant-based, and get to the gym every day. That's virtuous and to be commended. But it may be slightly unrealistic.

We asked Victoria Barrios, a certified Lifestyle Transformation Coach, to help us understand what it was that made her clients successful, and what she coaches people to do, when they set off on a new life goal. Barrios shares how she coaches people to make lasting change, one step at a time. This is designed to help anyone wanting to go plant-based and change their approach to eating, for her tricks to succeed.

Before setting any goals, I tell my clients to lay out their vision first and work backward from there. Why? You may have several goals, but only one of them is actually achievable now.

The more goals you have, the easier it will be to get overwhelmed, which actually keeps you from taking any action or succeeding at the most important goal. It's tempting to try to transform everything all at once and emerge as a whole new you. But more likely you will end up giving up on all of them and end up right back where you started.
Instead of listing out a bunch of goals and trying to tackle them all at once, start with your vision. Your vision is what gives you clarity and direction; without it, you won’t know if you’re on track for what you truly want in life, and your goals (or wishes) could end up taking you down the wrong path. So, how do you map out your vision? You need to get crystal clear on two things first:

Know Your “What” and your “Why!”
Your “what” should consist of exactly what it is that you want for your life right now and for as far in the future as you would like to allow yourself to visualize.
Your “why” is the reason behind your “what.” If you don’t know why you’re doing something, then it isn’t personal, and you might never truly understand what you’re working towards.
For example, part of my vision is to help others understand who they are and what they’re meant to do on this Earth so that they can begin to transform their lives. Why? Once I discovered for what I was truly meant, I began to see massive transformation in my own life.

Write down that vision and hang it where you can see it every single day so that you won’t get sidetracked. Once you’ve got your vision laid out, your goals will become easier to identify.

Your vision could be a short paragraph long or just a sentence. Try something internal, as opposed to just physical. "I want to be my healthiest version of myself, and be kind to myself and others." Try your version of that, and keep it concise.  Next comes the harder part:

Why? Once you accomplish a simple goal, it builds trust with yourself and momentum--which means you’ll be able to achieve more challenging and long-term goals in the future.
After you’ve decided on your one key goal, write it down and stick it next to your vision. Make sure you give yourself a realistic deadline for completing the goal. If you’re not sure how much time you’ll need, give yourself extra time, but follow through!
Finally, tell someone about the goal. We all need accountability, and it’s much easier to reach our goals if we know someone is going to keep reminding us about them.
Are you ready for the most important part?

Don’t make it your accountability partner’s job to get you to finish the goal. Ultimately, it’s your life! You are the author of how it goes. Write your story, one paragraph or day at a time.

Let us know what your goal is and share it on The Beet's Facebook page or the comments below. We will do the same and help each other achieve our key goals in the months ahead.