If you’re like me—and almost everyone else in this country—the end of the year is a time to look back and assess. I enjoy the nostalgia and reminiscing that occurs at this time of year, but it can also be a time of dread. It’s a time to realize you either hit the mark or you didn’t. And if you did, you may be apprehensive about being able to do it again in the new year.

So, we make resolutions.

We tell ourselves we’re going to do X differently this year. And most of us fall short of X because we forget about it, or we fall back into old routines because they are easy and we know how they work.

But this year, if you’re going to take on a resolution, we have some tips for you. The goal is to make resolutions more intuitive and doable. Here are a couple of ways to do that.

Make It a Team Effort in Business
Create improvement goals you have for your business and assign each of them to a person or department. If your company is large enough you could assign the task to an interdepartmental team. In the case of smaller companies, give it to someone you think would enjoy the task and be good at it. For instance, maybe you have been threatening to do live-stream videos but can never find the time. Maybe someone on your staff loves making TikToks. Enlist their help to either do it or act as your mentor or accountability coach. The reversal of roles can be fun.

Tell Everyone
The more people you announce your intentions to, the more embarrassed you will be if you don’t succeed. Risk of embarrassment can be a powerful motivator. 

An announcement should never be just a tweet. Instead, use multiple formats/mediums to announce your intentions too. Video, blog posts, social media posts, and/or live streaming can be entertaining ways to stay true to your commitments.

Derive Your Why
Just as it is important for your employees to understand the why behind your business, it’s smart to make sure you fully understand the why behind your resolution. Digging down to the most motivating reason can help you stay the course. You may find that tying someone else into your reasoning is a more effective motivation than your own.

For instance, did you resolve to lose weight in 2022? Why? Because you hate that your pants don’t fit? Or is there something more motivating? After all, non-fitting pants can be remedied by drawstring sweatpants (trust me on that). Try for something more motivating. Maybe deep down it’s not about the number on the scale but that you’re worried that because your parent had heart disease at a young age, you will too. Health is motivating but burgers and fries are delicious, so tie it into something larger than you. Maybe you don’t want your children to experience the same grief that you did with the loss of your parent at a young age. Sticking to a resolution for someone else can be a lot more motivating.

Choose a Resolution That Matters with Quick Measurable Results
If you want to be successful in attaining your resolution or goal, you must choose wisely. We tend to fall into ruts and assign ourselves little. If you view yourself as a winner and someone who always attains their goals, you will be motivated to take on harder ones. If, on the other hand, you see yourself as someone who gives up, guess what will happen when things get hard? You’ll revert to what you know (or think you know) about yourself, and you’ll give up.

If you want to change that scenario, you must change how you view yourself. That takes more than just positive talk. Your brain wants examples of how you followed through or what you successfully completed. That’s why you should start with a resolution to do something that you can see quick, measurable improvement almost immediately. After you accomplish that smaller goal, with that “win” in hand, you can tell your brain you do complete things. Then tackle the more difficult one.

If you’re considering taking on a resolution or making some big changes in your business or yourself, consider these motivational suggestions. They’ll help you make effective use of your time and direction and assist you in building confidence in your skills in 2022.

Christina R. Metcalf (formerly Green) is a marketer who enjoys using the power of story and refuses to believe meaningful copy can be written by bots. She helps chamber and small business professionals find the right words when they don’t have the time or interest to do so. Christina hates exclamation points and loves road trips. Say hi on Twitter or reach out on Facebook.