Have you made your New Year’s Resolutions yet?
Are some of them exactly the same you’ve made last year??
What is the chance you’ll stick to them in 2016???
According to research by the University of Scranton, 1 in 3 people that make New Year’s Resolutions will ditch their goals by end of January, and only 8% will achieve them by end of the year!
If an MBA degree is on your New Year’s Resolution list, you simply can’t afford an 8% chance of succeeding! Each year that you postpone your entry to an MBA program costs you $30,000 – $100,000 because you’re delaying your chance to make a lot more money while doing the job you really love.
So how could you beat the statistics?
We’ve put together a few tips to help you keep your resolutions in the New Year:
1. Make it real
If you simply decide to eat healthier, or have a better career, how would you know if you’ve achieved your goals?? Instead of committing to a process, commit to the result.
For example: “I will lose 10 pounds by July 1st”, or “I will get a GMAT score of 700 by end of May”.
Resolving to achieve a measurable result lets you not only chart your progress, but also celebrate your achievement when you reach your goal.
Write down your desired result where you can see it every day, and also…
2. Know why you want it
According to Tony Robbins, there are 2 forces that drive human behaviour: a desire to achieve pleasure and a desire to avoid pain.
Write down how your life will be better when you achieve your result, and what things you can avoid once you reach it.
For example, “Getting a GMAT score of 700 by May will allow me to get into a top MBA program this year. I will enjoy making new connections, learning new things and travelling to new places. When I graduate, I will make a lot more money. By starting the MBA program this year, I will also avoid doing the same job I already don’t like for another year”.
Knowing why you want to reach your goal will create a sense of commitment. Another thing you could do to stay focused is to …
3. Ask questions
According to a recent research paper published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, asking questions creates a “self-fulfilling prophecy” that helps you reach your goals.
Asking questions serves two purposes:
1. Asking Yes/No questions and then answering them, instead of making statements, makes you more successful in changing your behaviour, according to the study. For example, you’re more likely to actually get a 700 GMAT score if you ask yourself “Will I get a 700 score?” and then say, “Yes”, instead of just telling yourself “I will get a 700 score”.
2. Asking open-ended questions, such as “What do I need to do to get a 700 GMAT score by May?” taps into the immense resources of your subconscious mind (responsible for learning and long-term memory), and lets your brain find the way to get to your goal much faster.
Asking yourself questions is a powerful technique. What’s even more powerful is to …
4. Get around people that share the same goals
According to the same research, when you team up with a friend who shares the same vision, you make the commitment somewhat public. Committing to others makes you more accountable, making it much more likely that you’ll actually follow through!
Finally, you will dramatically increase your chance of success when you …
5. Take immediate action that makes success inevitable
The hardest thing is often deciding to take the first step. Has it ever happened to you that you really wanted something, but kept procrastinating, and several months later you still haven’t gotten any closer to your goal?
Did you know that the word “decide” comes from Latin “de” + “caedere” that means to “cut off”? When you decide to take the first step towards your goal, you’re cutting off the possibility of not reaching it.
The best way to decide is to take immediate action. If an MBA degree is on your resolution list this year, do something right now, before you close this browser, to make your success inevitable.
To help you reach your goals this year, we’ve put together a 2016 Kick-Off Party – tonight!
Commit to your success. Get around people that share the same vision. Ask yourself a question: “Is there anything more important than my long-term success right now?”