New Year’s Resolutions: Be More Successful with help from a concierge
New Year’s Day has long been symbolic of new beginnings—a time for us to implement changes, to better our lives and the lives of those around us, and to re-evaluate where we are in whatever life stage we happen to be. While almost half of the U.S. population will make a New Year’s resolution each year (according to a study published by John Norcross in the Journal of Clinical Psychology), around 80 percent of all those resolutions will fail by February. In other words, a typical resolution lasts only a matter of weeks.
For most resolution makers, health and wellness issues top the list. We all know we need to quit smoking, lose weight, eat healthier foods, and exercise more, and we all know how difficult it is to do these things. It may be tempting to assume that these common, and difficult, types of resolutions account for our low success rate overall. However, the study found that regardless of the type of resolution a person made, the success rate was the same. Roughly 20 percent of those who resolved to stop smoking, and roughly 20 percent of those who decided to learn a new language, were actually able to follow through with their commitment.
The study also revealed an important factor when it comes to resolutions: The single biggest predictor of success was the mental stage of the participant. Those who were already at the action stage (meaning, they had already accepted the idea of change, and had established rewards, new behaviours and avoidance of centers of risk) were far more likely to succeed than those who were still at the contemplation stage, where they were thinking about the change but not ready to take action.
How to succeed with your New Year’s Resolutions
Of course, we believe that the best way to invest in yourself, and move from the contemplation phase to the action phase, is to seek the outside perspective of an accountability partner or professional lifestyle manager.
If you are already in the process of considering the new year and your own new beginnings, there are a number of ways to set yourself up for success, and a number of ways that you can enlist the help of your own personal concierge to help you achieve your goals. Below, we’ve listed some of the most popular resolutions that people set, with a few ideas about how you can be successful carrying them out throughout the year.
Learning Something New
A popular resolution, this can include anything from learning a new language to learning how to code, or simply reading more books this year. If learning something new is on your own resolution list, map out what success looks like for you at the end of the year. Remember to be specific. Will you code a full website by year’s end? Will you have read 30 books? Will you be able to watch that French film you’ve been dying to see—without the subtitles? Once you have your definitive, specific goal in mind, plan out how you will learn. Will you use an online platform or borrow books from the library? Will you use a tutor or coach or study on your own? Once you have your plan, enlist the help of your concierge—who can pick up and drop off books for you, help you enroll in classes at the local community college, or even research the kinds of opportunities that exist in your area that will help you reach your goal.
Tackling that Bucket List
Is it time to start tackling that bucket list you’ve been building for all these years? No matter what is on your list—be it seeing that band in concert, traveling to Machu Picchu or going skydiving, your concierge can help you start living the life you’ve envisioned for yourself. First, decide which item you’re going to take on this year, and set a budget for it. Sit down and talk with your concierge about your vision for this life-defining event. Who will be there? What does it look and feel like? What would make the event especially memorable for you? Your concierge can take over all the planning and prep work after this initial meeting, keeping you updated along the way, or, if you prefer, can continue to meet and dream with you at every step. Either way, you’ll have a trusted partner to help ensure that the bucket list event is everything you hoped it would be.
Health Goals
Losing weight, eating healthy, and other health objectives are among our top resolutions, but these goals are also the most difficult to achieve. For some reason, proper self-care is one of the first things to go when life gets hectic. Busy schedules, stress, and a lack of time to plan and prepare tend to derail even the most disciplined and committed people. Still, with a little planning and a little help, you can achieve a more healthy lifestyle. First, set out your specific goal. How often will you exercise? For how long? How much will you lose? By when? What does eating healthy mean to you in real terms? Next, make a plan for what happens when you fall off the wagon; it will happen, and those with a contingency plan in place are far more likely to pick up and keep going. While your concierge can’t necessarily put you on that treadmill, they can help you achieve your goals in a number of ways—by creating a weekly meal plan, helping with the grocery shopping, enrolling you at the local gym, and even giving you daily accountability check-ins to keep you going. You don’t need more willpower or more discipline; you need a plan and a partner.
Regardless of your goals this year, you can be successful with a good plan and a little help. Enlist a friend, family member or personal concierge to help you along the way, and you, too, can be part of that elusive 20 percent of people that are able to achieve the things they set out to do in the new year.
Contact Monogram Concierge to schedule a complimentary consultation or request our two-week trial membership to learn exactly how beneficial a personal concierge can be.