Image description: The Qi Creative team throws their hats in the air!

Happy New Year from the Qi Creative team!

There’s nothing like the beginning of a new year to reflect, refine, and take charge of your goals, be they personal, professional, or in-between.

Resolutions cross many minds with the change of the year, but trust us—you’re not alone when it comes to the overwhelm and discouragement of ‘failed’ resolutions and goals.

In fact, according to the Association of Psychology Newfoundland and Labrador, up to 80% of people will fail their New Year’s resolutions by February.

For this year, and many years to come, here’s some tips on thinking about, setting, and keeping your goals and resolutions:

Start with a Theme

Image description: A notebook page with a drawing of a ‘toolbelt’: People, talents, strengths, traits, and resources are each ‘tool’ on the belt.

In 2021, our theme was My Qi Tools.

The purpose of this theme was to reflect on what mindsets, skills and strategies carried each of us through the changes of 2020, and how we can continue to use and add to our individual toolkits in future years.

Take the bottom-up approach by choosing a theme first, which can then help narrow down your goals and make them more achievable. A theme can help resolutions feel more connected and cohesive, rather than feeling like a random list of unrelated goals.

Setting a theme can also make it easier to track your progress, as you can see how all of your resolutions fit together and contribute to your overall theme.

Small Steps

Image description: A series of tools lay on a bench, with a MacBook pro laid upside-down.

If you’re a night owl by nature, then setting a goal to arrive at your local gym by 6 AM is probably not the most achievable. If you’re hoping to be healthier, but haven’t eaten brussels sprouts for months, revamping every single food item in your home overnight may be out of reach (and out of budget)!

By breaking your goals down into small, achievable steps, you are more likely to stay motivated and make consistent progress. This can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed or discouraged by the prospect of making a big change.

Taking small steps, and making micro-goals, can also help to build better habits that will support your success in the long term. The thought of saving $2000 by a certain time can seem daunting, but $50 a week? That sounds more doable.

Small steps are also much easier to track. Tracking your small-step progress can be more motivating than a yes/no of achieving a big goal, and you can celebrate each small victory along the way.

Accountability Buddy

Image description: From left to right, Coaches Emily, Heather, and Lisa collaborating at Qi Creative headquarters.

At Qi, we call them ‘Qi Buddies’!

Once a year, we randomly draw and pair (or even triple) up our coaches as buddies. What they do with that buddy time is entirely up to them, but often, it involves staying up to date on personal goals—even working on them together!

An accountability buddy (or Qi Buddy) is a person who helps you stay accountable to your goals and commitments by providing support, encouragement, and motivation. This can be a friend, family member, or colleague who you check in with on a regular basis to discuss your progress and any challenges you are facing.

The idea is that by having someone to report to, you are more likely to follow through on your goals and make progress. Accountability buddies can be particularly helpful for individuals who are trying to make a big change in their lives, such as starting a new exercise program or quitting a bad habit.

Success Comes in All Sizes

Image description: 3 of our Qi Creative owls, dancing and jumping happily.

Don’t be so hard on yourself if you miss a day or two (In fact, the publication of this blog post is January 2, not January 1 :)

Success comes in all sizes, and challenges are a part of life. What matters is to get back on track, and with the support of your friends, family, or Qi Coaches, we can turn every challenge into opportunities for growth, play, joy, and finding your unique awesome.

So you didn’t get to work on time—but did you get something to eat, drive a car with a full tank of gas, get the kids to school? That’s awesome!

More Resources

The University of Alberta is offering The Habit Course: Building Better Habits Personally and Professionally, for free!
Pick up popular goal-setting books like Atomic Habits, for free at the Edmonton Public Library!
Download a Fillable Habit Tracker from Canadian watercolour artist Peak Paper Co when you sign up for their newsletter!

All the best to you in the new year! Is success coaching part of your new year’s goals? If so, fill out an Intake Form and we’ll be in touch!