Why you have failed to keep your New Year resolutions

I have been procrastinating about writing this article for weeks, which is completely ironic as I am writing about MOTIVATION. There have been so many more things I would rather be doing and have therefore prioritised …Meeting with coaching clients, chatting to clients about new projects and being trained to facilitate an exciting new diagnostic we are launching next month (top secret for now). But NOT writing this article about motivation, that I promised to get to Sarah, our PR Manager by the end of January. So, what is going on? Perhaps you have failed in your New Year’s resolutions and are wondering why? It may be that YOU are not the problem. In fact, it is the resolutions that you are making and how you achieve them that could be the issue. We are much more likely to succeed when we are doing what we want to, rather than what we should be doing. For me, writing is part of my job but I don’t prioritise it because I don’t love doing it. Most people have failed in their resolutions by the start of February. Research shows that the more you enjoy what you are trying to achieve the more likely you are to continue with it. This links closely with the work that we do here at FPG on motivation. When we understand what motivates us and plan ways to grow ourselves based on this, we are more likely to succeed. Engagement and motivation are closely linked –we know that high engagement has a positive impact on how we perform. Stephen Covey describes Motivation as a ‘Fire from within’ –you have to know what fires you up in order to make the right resolutions that will stick. According to James Sale founder of Motivational Maps TM there are three main areas that motivate us. They are RELATIONSHIPS ACHIEVEMENT AND GROWTH You will be energised by one of these more than the others and that is where to focus efforts in terms of setting goals or indeed making resolutions. It is important to note that what motivates is not the same as your strengths, to understand what your motivators are, think about what gives you energy. If relationships are most important to you, your resolutions should be based around people activities, perhaps focused on a creating a better social environment for the team, or improving working relationships, Getting recognition for good work is likely to be important too, so working on a high profile project or towards an award would be great. The second area is achievement, people who are motivated by achievement are energised by being in charge. What resolutions could you make that would lead to more responsibility and influence? You will also stick to resolutions that result in financial rewards and clear targets will certainly give you energy. Those motivated by achievement are often fired up when learning new skills or when mentoring others. The final area of motivation is growth. If you are highly motivated by growth your most successful resolutions will be about creating more meaning in your work, you will need change and variety to be energised and creative goals should be pursued. You will also value freedom and autonomy so working independently on a project would be perfect. So, know what motivates you, set your goal and act AND remember to reward yourself when you achieve what you set out to do. As for me? As soon as I remembered that I am motivated by doing meaningful work, I adjusted the tone of the article to make it more personal and meaningful to me and then it wrote itself. So …I’m off now to reward myself with a cup of tea and a Kit Kat. Bye for now. Jo McCarthy For more information on motivation, please click here