By Natasha Lindor | @NatashaLindor

If you’ve resolved to do better in the New Year, I want to help you follow through and make it happen without compromising your work or personal life.

Research shows that of the people who set goals to do better in the New Year,

• 75 percent stay on track through the first week.
• 71 percent stay on track for two weeks.
• 64 percent stay on track for one month.
• 46 percent stay on track for six months.

If you’ve set a goal to make your life better in some way, these statistics aren’t very promising.

Want to make sure you’re one of the 46 percent who stay on track for six months, or even better — the 8 percent who actually achieve their goals? Keep reading, my friend, because this month’s Enjoy Your #SocialLife Challenge will help you achieve anythingyou want this year while enjoying the ride. (Really!)

What Going After a Goal Usually Looks and Feels Like

Does this sound familiar?

You set a goal.

You hope to achieve it.

The goal doesn’t happen as you wanted it to.

You feel disappointed.

You get down on yourself.

Your Inner Critic kicks into overdrive with negative self-talk like:

• Who were you to think it was going to work out for you?

• Of course, it didn’t work out. It never does.

• If only you were smart like [insert the name of someone you perceive is smarter/better than you]

You try again, usually attempting the same actions (or a slight variation) you tried before.

Rinse and repeat, hoping for a different result.

Now imagine going through this cycle every day, every month or every year for the rest of your life. The thought of going through all that doesn’t feel very empowering to me, and I bet it doesn’t to you either. Actually, it’s pretty exhausting, don’t you think?

How to Break the Cycle

Good thing you can do something to shake things up so you don’t just hope for things to get better but you actually get what you want.

And you get it with less effort, less negative backlash from your Inner Critic and more ease. Don’t get me wrong. Hope is a key part of an optimistic view of life, but that’s NOT what will create the results you’re after.

Please do not underestimate the power of taking action now. Nothing will shut down the voice of your Inner Critic more than some kind of action.

Whether you have a general goal like be more positiveor something more specific such as practice some form of yoga five days a week, getting the results you want starts with the present moment. Why? Because what you do (and think) NOW directly impacts your future results.

Here’s a quick example:

Your Inner Critic: Look at you, it’s only three days into your new workout routine and you already blew it off to sit on the couch. You’re such a lazy slob.

Here are two possible scenarios:

Scenario #1: You think to yourself: It’s true. I am sitting on the couch right now and I’m going to pack my gym bag and make sure I pack a pre-workout snack so I’m not tempted to skip the gym and come home because I’m hungry.

Scenario #2: You think to yourself: Yeah, I am a lazy slob, aren’t I? What’s the point? Who was I kidding that I could make this work? I might as well order in a pizza and try again tomorrow.

Simply being aware of the power of action (and inaction) on your results will help you be more successful in reaching your goals.

The power of action:In the first scenario you not only acknowledge the fact that you didn’t work out but you actually do something to address the reason you skipped your workout so you can increase your chances of success and get back on track.

The power of inaction: In the second scenario, you not only buy into the self-sabotaging message from your Inner Critic but you also give it more evidence to support the idea that you are a lazy slob. You also fall into the Trying Trap when you tell yourself you’ll try again the next day.

As Yoda once said, there is no try, only do. The same is true for achieving your goals.

Enjoy Your #SocialLife Challenge

Now that you see the importance of taking action, let’s talk about how to add more ease into your doing. After all, you’re a human being, not a human doing. Just because you are taking action doesn’t mean you have to fight your way through it.

One of the most effective ways to make sure you take action and achieve your goals with ease is to make sure whatever change you want to make takes into account the 10 goal-achievement pillars.

That’s why this month’s Enjoy Your #SocialLife Challenge is to download Rock Your Resolutions — a step-by-step audio training walks you through each of the 10 goal-achievement pillars and breaks down exactly what to do so that you don’t just hope for things to get better but you actually get what you want.

You can grab it here(it’s FREE)!

Remember: You always have a choice.You don’t have to hope for a break or a miracle that the stuff you don’t like about your life will get better.

You canchoose to do something nowto to actually get what you want this year. Download the Rock Your Resolutions training to make sure you’re one of the 46 percent who stay on track for six months, or even better — the 8 percent who actually achieve their goals. Grab it here! 

I believe in you and your happiness. You can do this, and I’m here to help you make this year and beyond your best years yet — without compromising your success and what matters most.