Every year, we turn the page and begin anew. We resolve to grow, to improve, make better choices and take our salons and personal lives to the next level.

Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. Ultimately it is up to each of us to follow through and make the goal we set a reality.

Resolutions are pretty easy to identify: they are the areas in work and life we know we want to improve upon. Many people resolve to pay down business debt, spend more time working on their business, become a better listener, eat healthier, exercise, etc.

Figuring out your resolution is the easy part, following through is where it gets tough.

Use these 6 steps to help you stay on track with your resolution.

1. Reflect on Last Year’s Accomplishments

• What resolution did you complete? Why?

• What motivated you to follow through? What didn’t you complete? Why?

• What stopped you?

Before you can even set a goal, this step allows you to identify behaviors, habits, and ways of thinking - good and bad, which help or hinder your progress. This exercise will show you what behaviors helped you stick to your goals and which did not.

2. Be Specific About Your Resolution   

The clearer you are about your goal, the odds of achieving it increase. For example, if you were to write down a goal to pay down debt, this is too vague. Instead, write down that you want to pay $2,500 in business debt over the next 12 months.

3. Set Completion Dates

A clear goal is not easily achievable unless you put a by-when date next to the goal. This increases accountability and makes it more real! Continuing with our example above, the goal now becomes: I will pay down $2,500 of business debt by December 31, 2019.

4. Create Checkpoints

Creating a resolution for a 12 month period can be daunting especially because of the length of time involved. Creating checkpoints along the way can help make the goal more manageable and appear more realistic. 

• Take your $2,500 goal and divide it into a quarterly goal of $625 every 3 months.

• You can even go one step further and divide $625 into 3 months to have a monthly goal of $208.33.

This makes a larger, long-term goal much more achievable.

5. Share Your Resolutions with Your Peers

You have other technicians and hairstylists in your business and in your life who believe in you and encourage you along the way. This should be someone you trust. They should also be someone who can hold you accountable, to remind you what your goals are and what you need to do to help keep you on track.

6. Reward Yourself

As the year progresses and you achieve your goals and meet checkpoints, reward yourself with small treats or gifts. It will feel great and further strengthen your resolve to keep moving forward.

Incorporate these steps every day and make 2019 both personally and professionally the best year ever!

Photo: Lemau Studios

Breaking It Down

In this post, we talked about setting resolutions and ways you can successfully achieve your goals by following a simple system. Looking for more full proof systems to reach your goals and realize your dreams? Check out these two online classes.

Goal Setting Basics Online Class

Not sure where to begin when it comes to goal setting? This online class helps you uncover your wildest dreams and then shows you how to create a roadmap to achieve them.

Goal Setting Advanced Online Class

If your goals are career specific, then check out this online class and get clarity on your next career move.