Effectively Planning for your New Year’s Resolutions (Sample Plan)

A new year is on us soon. Many of us are thinking about our goals and reflecting on what we have achieved thus far. For some of us, we have realized our goals and yet for others, our goal is yet to be realized.

I was among the latter group for the better part of the last 5 years. I would always set the same goal, overcome porn and I always failed to succeed. I also set many other goals, but I was not able to effectively measure their success.

What changed in the last year was the strong belief that I developed in myself and the alteration to my thoughts that materialized into the desire and willpower to make me succeed.

Now, another new year is almost upon us. 2023 is just around the corner. Many of us are already thinking about what we want to achieve in the span of 12 months. Remember, everyone is different and no two people are alike. When setting goals it may seem as though you are falling behind your peers but such thinking is detrimental to your success.

Comparing yourself to others is a great way to convince yourself that there is no point, to just give up instead.

In contrast, you’ll need to set a measurable goal that you can track against yourself and really be able to gauge your progress. Let’s take a look at an example below.

Let our goal for the new year be to overcome porn. Over the span of the next 12 months, we need to have an action plan to be able to implement and accomplish. Something like this:

January:

Week 1: Reduce porn consumption from 5x a week to 3x week at scheduled times.

Week 2: Continuation of week 1, however, cut consumption time from 2 hrs/session to 1 hr/session.

Total consumption time for week 2 is 3 hours.

Week 3: Continue the plan from week 2. Begin the practice of regulating thoughts (this goal will be ongoing to make it a habit).

Week 4: Begin an activity that will protect you against boredom. This activity should be scheduled 1x week at first if it is new to you. It could be an exercise regimen, practicing outdoor skills, engaging in martial arts, or even learning to be a better handyman. The options are endless.

Once you have made something like this for January, do it for every month of the year by which time you should have reached your goal.

You’ll need to print out your blueprint and stick it on your desk, door, closet, or anywhere you will see it often. This will help in reminding you of the goal so that you don’t forget it.

Now that we have created a measurable plan, we need to remember some important best practices to ensure we succeed in the long run.

1. Start to imagine yourself having already achieved the goal/s you have set out to achieve. Create an image of it in your head and let it stay there rent-free. Before bed, this should be your final thought.
2. Believe in yourself to the fullest and have no doubt enter your mind. Remove any doubt at once and remind yourself daily that you are very capable of achieving your goal.
3. Do not let anyone’s opinions or thoughts influence you away from your goals. Shut out the thoughts of others and focus only on your own.
4. This one may be hard but can help as well. Find a partner who is also struggling with a similar issue and challenge them through healthy competition.

That is all I have left to say for now, however, as the new year approaches I will begin writing more frequently on similar topics to help each and every one of you realize your full potential.