With thanks to all who are participating, here are the results of this past weekend’s poll. Our focus:

How did you do with your 2016 goals or resolutions?

We know that identifying goals and resolutions is the easy part. Here’s a look at how readers feel they did following through on theirs in 2016.

If you achieved yours, congrats! If not, we have a shiny new year ahead of us, and you’ll find moral support and encouragement from peers at the end of this article!

2016 RESULTS

– with readers’ January 2017 responses reflecting their results for the year overall

Did you you establish goals or resolutions for 2016?

January 27: 67% of respondents said yes; 33% said no

October 2016: 56% of respondents said yes; 44% said no

June 2016: 82% of respondents said yes; 18% said no

April 2016: 79% of respondents said yes; 21% said no

January 2016: 89% of respondents said yes; 11% said no

If you set goals/resolutions, for 2016, have you stuck with them?

January 2017: 62.5% selected “To a certain degree”; 25% of respondents said yes; 12.5% said no.

October 2016: 25% of respondents said yes; 50% said no; 25% selected “Other”.  A couple of comments were offered: “n/a” and “I’ve stuck with some, but not all my goals”.

June 2016:  55% of respondents said yes; 36% said no; 9% selected “Other”. One respondent wrote, “N/A”.

April 2016: 58% of respondents said yes; 25% said no; 17% selected “Other”. Some of those respondents commented, “much of the time” and “half the time”.

January 2016: 89% of respondents said yes; 11% said no

Did you develop strategies or an action plan to achieve your goals or resolutions? 

January 2017: 50% of respondents said yes; 50% said no

October 2016: 57% of respondents said yes; 29% said no, but they’re working on this; 14% said no

June 2016: 50% of respondents said yes; 40% had not yet done so but were working on it, and 10% said no

April 2016: 69% said yes; 23% had not yet done so but were working on it, and 8% said no

January 2016: 56% said yes; 33% said no; 11% had not yet done so, but were working on it

Did you make your goals/resolutions known to others?

January 2017:  37.5% of respondents said yes; 62.5% said no

October 2016: 57% of respondents said yes; 43% said no

June 2016: 50% of respondents said yes, while 50% said no

April 2016: 69% said yes, while 31% said no

January 2016: 59% said no, while 33% said yes and 11% of respondents selected “Other”. One such person wrote, “not yet”

Did you establish timelines within which to achieve the results you want?

January 2017:  37.5% of respondents said yes; 62.5% said no

October 2016: 43% of respondents said yes; 57% said no

June 2016:  60% of respondents said yes, while 40% said no

April 2016: 77% of respondents said yes, while 23% said no

January 2016: 56% said yes, while 44% said no

Did you establish metrics/measures by which you can measure success?

January 2017:  60% of respondents said yes; 40% said no

October 2016: 43% of respondents said yes; 57% said no

June 2016:  60% of respondents said yes, while 40% said no

April 2016: 62% said yes, while 38% said no

January 2016: 56% said no, while 44% said yes

Did you identify habits/routines you need to drop?

January 2017:  100% of respondents said yes

October 2016: 86% of respondents said yes; 14% said no

June 2016:  80% of respondents said yes, while 20% said no

April 2016: 83% said yes, while 17% said no

January 2016: 78% said yes, while 22% said no

Have you continued incorporating any new habits or routines as part of your goals/resolutions?

January 2017: 73% of respondents said yes; 27% said no

October 2016: 86% of respondents said yes; 50% said no

June 2016:  70% of respondents said yes; 20% said no; 10% selected “Other”. Comments included “some”.

April 2016: 92% said yes, they are incorporating new habits or routines as the year progresses, while 8% of respondents said no

January 2016: n/a; with the year just underway, it would have been premature to ask such a question

Are you happy with your progress on your goals/resolutions?

January 2017: 67% of respondents said yes; 27% said no; 7% selected “Other”. One person commented, “Somewhat”.

October 2016: 63% of respondents said yes; 13% said no; 25% selected “Other”. One person in this category wrote, “I’m happy with progress on some goals, but not all”. Others wrote “n/a”.

June 2016: 70% of respondents said yes and 20% said no; another 10% selected “Other”. One person in this category, wrote, “somewhat”

April 2016: 64% said yes, while 29% said no and another 7% selected “Other”; one person in the last category wrote, “Time is Limited!!!”

January 2016: 89% said yes, while 11% of respondents said no

Did you adjust or drop any of your 2016 goals during the year?

January 2017:  67% of respondents said yes; 20% said they’d dropped one or more goals; 13% said no

October 2016: 71% of respondents said yes; 29% said no

June 2016:  67% of respondents said yes, while 22% said they’d dropped one or more goals and 11% said no

April 2016: 58% said no, while 42% said yes, they’ve made adjustments

January 2016: n/a; with the year just underway, it would have been premature to ask such a question

What advice would you offer someone who has slipped but wants to get back on track with goals?

Responses YTD

• Keep trying! Never give up!!
• Be focused, don’t be too hard on yourself; goal setting is for the greater good
• Pick up where you left off if you are behind schedule don’t worry too much
• Don’t beat yourself up. Just pick up again.
• Revaluate your situation. Best to concentrate on one resolution
• It’s just a slip – you can do it
• Keep at heart your life strategies, life skills, for daily inspiring touches
• Visualize yourself and the satisfaction you’ll feel once you achieve the goal(s)
• Believe in yourself
• Make a plan – get someone to motivate you into sticking to it
• Improve through self assessment
• Just because you slip, it doesn’t mean that you fail. Get back on track soon.
• Form a board of advisors and get support from people you trust and know you well
• Remember your “why”
• Persevere!
• Take time to think clearly about the goals and how you can achieve them
• Keep it moving …
• Do not give up. Keep trying.
• Have an accountability partner to keep you honest
• Envision the end result, and then map out how to reach it.
• Keep on assessing your career plans and focus on 2-3 areas for improvement
• Get back on that bike & start pedalling again.
• Envision the end result.
• Get back on track now! Don’t leave it until 1 Jan, journey will be much harder!
• Don’t waste time! Use every second to make you happy!
• Just try again.
• Just get back on the horse. Nothing ventured nothing gained!
• Do not give up, keep on trying!!!
• Review the timelines you have set and consider adjustments to get the job done.