There are 2 types of people in the world:

a) Those who make grand new year promises but don’t keep them

&

b) Those who don’t make any new year resolutions at all.

There is a 3rd kind – those who make goals and strive everyday to keep them. Here are a few tips to help you make & keep the new year resolutions.

1) Keep the goals realistic:

Trying to get a 6-pack is not a great idea. Especially if your last name is not Sood and you are not in the movie business. Instead try something more prosaic like getting some exercise 3 times/week. Ask yourself if this is something you can see yourself doing on May 14th (

2) Be who you are:

Be a better you rather than being someone else (who you are not!). So if waking up at 5am and going for a run isn’t YOU then don’t do it. For night owls, there is no reason why you should not go for a walk/jog post-dinner.

3) Be sure you answer the WHY before the WHAT

Have you stayed up late partying or woken up at 4am to catch a flight? At that time did your brain tell you to sleep? Nope! But the same brain will question you when you wake up to go for a jog at 5am!

So don’t fight your reptilian brain – unless you have a good reason you will never continue doing anything.

4) Be Specific

“I want to lose some weight” isn’t a great way you are going to keep up with those goals. Instead pick something very specific – I want to loose 5 kilos in the next 3 months. I want to study 3-hours at least 4days a week for CAT/GRE/GMAT is better than “This year I will crack CAT/GRE/GMAT”

5) Be Flexible

Remember – cracking 100% on CAT or scoring a perfect 800 on the GMAT isn’t really the goal. The goal is to get to a good bschool of your choice – at whatever score it takes to get there! So keep your final goal and keep the paths flexible – a Plan B or a Plan C.

As an entrepreneur (I run CrackVerbal – one of India’s fastest growing test prep company), I use the same pointers in daily-life to make goals for myself. Write below in the comments to let me know if these work for you! Look forward to reading your replies.