We’ve all done it: made a resolution on January 1st that we were really excited about. Maybe you want to save money, eat healthier, change careers, or exercise more. Personally, I’ve resolved to lose weight every year since my youngest child was born. And yet, he’s almost eight, and the scale has just crept higher.
Unfortunately, research shows that only 9% of Americans actually succeed in keeping our resolutions.
Why do we get so excited at the beginning of the year, only to give up? We buy tools and equipment to help us and talk about our goals online – but the statistics show that many of us will quit before the end of the first week, and the rest usually before the end of the month. Why is that?
Part of the reason we fail is that we set big, overarching resolutions that are more like wishes than achievable goals. They aren’t measurable, and we don’t know how to accomplish them.
I challenge you to approach the changes you want to make this year differently. Instead of a resolution, set an intention. You’re probably wondering if the wording really matters – I think that it does!
A resolution is a decision to do something. It’s a one-time thing. We resolve to change and then we pat ourselves on the back and feel really good about that resolution for a few days. We might even make some half-hearted attempts to achieve it. But we don’t have any concrete idea of how to get there.
On the other hand, an intention implies continued effort toward what one intends to do or bring about, and it requires a plan.
Let’s take “losing weight”, which is one of the most common goals here in America. I’ll set that as my intention, and then I’ll decide how I’m going to get there. Working towards that intention requires a plan with goals that check three boxes.
They must be:
- Specific
- Achievable within a set time frame
- Measurable
Losing weight is a great intention, but it’s a big one. I need to outline short-term goals that are precise and specific. Then I have to determine how I’m going to measure it, and I need to make sure it’s achievable for me. A specific goal for losing weight might be, “lose five pounds per month”. That goal is also measurable, and achievable.
Let’s break down how I am going to accomplish that for the month of January. When I faced something that seemed impossible as a kid, my dad used to ask me, “How do you eat an elephant? You do it one bite at a time”. I would get annoyed because, honestly, who eats elephants anyway. But the lesson has stuck with me. With that mentality, I’m not going to try to set goals for the entire year, because I don’t know what the year has in store. Instead, I’m making my goals small, and I’m focusing on one month at a time. This feels more achievable, and I am more likely to follow through with these bite-sized goals.
Let’s start with that weight-loss intention; specific goals might look like this:
- Keep a food diary for one month so I can be more aware of what I am eating
- Eat five fruits and vegetables per day
- Make sure to get protein from lean meats and fish daily
- Walk one mile per day
- Consume less than 25 grams of sugar per day
Now that I have some specific goals I am going to break down what things will help me personally achieve each of them. This sets me up for success before I even begin!
- Keep a food diary for one month
- Set reminders on my phone three times a day
- Find an easy-to-use app
- Spend time inputting my “regular foods” so it will take less time day-to-day
- Eat five fruits and vegetables a day
- Plan what I will eat and purchase
- Prep for ease: pull grapes off stems, cut tops off berries, etc.
- Make sure to get protein from lean meats and fish daily
- Research recipes for new things to try
- Walk one mile per day
- I focus on auditions in the morning, so I’m setting 11:00 am as my time to walk
- Set reminders on my phone
- Dress for walking when I get up so I don’t have to change
Whether your goals are personal fitness and health goals, or career and life goals, the same method applies:
Set an intention. Write it down where you can see it EVERY DAY, and continue throughout the year to set smaller goals to help you achieve it. Ask a friend or partner to keep you accountable. Tell them about your progress, and don’t be afraid to reset your goals as needed.
A career goal for many of us is to do more direct marketing. Voice actors can have a lot of success in this type of marketing, yet many of us spend the least amount of time on it. We can use this as an example and set the intention to spend more time on marketing directly to the people who hire us.
But that’s a pretty non-specific goal. We need to break that down into smaller, more achievable goals that we can measure.
For example, we might decide to send five emails or messages a day to prospective clients. I have friends that send many times that amount, but as a busy mom, that just isn’t realistic for me. It might be for you! The key is to determine what is personally realistic for you. Some people might decide to be even more specific and spend each week focused on a different target audience. The first week could be the medical field, the second week could be e-learning, and so on.
Next, we need to make our goal measurable. This could be done with a CRM so you don’t duplicate efforts and can keep track of your success rate, or if that overwhelms you, it could be as simple as a spreadsheet, or even a post-it note on your desk where you make simple hash marks to help you keep track of your goal. At the end of the month, you evaluate if this is working for you and what changes you can make to set new goals for the next month.
The older I get the more I want to change, and yet the more resistant to change I become. Goals and resolutions feel overwhelming and HARD. Setting an intention for my life and then looking at what is required to get me there feels much more natural and easier to accomplish. Then breaking down the things that will help me reach those smaller goals helps me to feel more in control of the changes I want to make. The New Year is a natural time to reach for change. But this year, let’s beat those statistics and follow our intentions rather than make resolutions we know we’ll never keep!
Check out our free PDF with pro tips from real working voice-over actors here!
Want to learn more about voiceover? Sign up for our introductory VO webinar.
