It is day sixteen of 2007. Is your holiday poinsettia in better shape than your resolutions? If so you needn’t beat yourself up about it. Tomorrow is a new day.
While a New Year brings forth a sense of renewal and hope and is a good time to start fresh so is each and every day. Each morning offers up a clean slate and an opportunity to begin anew.
Resolutions are made for many reasons. Sometimes we base them on things we feel we should accomplish but don’t really want to. Without a burning desire to succeed we fail.
What may seem like a grand idea just before the stroke of midnight often isn’t as realistic come morning if we lack the motivation to achieve it. And by the end of the first week, many well intended resolutions will have experienced a slow and silent death.
A successful resolution is one that isn’t too ambitious or made in haste. It also isn’t one based on deprivation or guilt.
Pleasure and satisfaction needs to be part of any resolution. Having a solid reason for setting your goal and identifying the benefits will go along way to helping you achieve it. It’s also important to understand we must often sacrifice one thing in order to achieve another. In other words, are you willing to pay the price to have what you want?
The best resolutions are realistic and planned. Like the poinsettia that my grandmother replants in her garden each spring, resolutions (and goals in general) need strong roots in order to flourish. Without such roots our motivation and desire for change usually wanes.
Set Mini Goals
Break large goals into a set of mini ones. Keep yourself on track by setting daily, weekly and monthly goals. Think baby steps over giant steps. What small but concrete steps do you need to take? Remember a slow and steady pace almost always gets you to the finish line faster than a set of random unplanned actions.
Put It in Writing
Write down your resolutions. Keep a journal to track your progress.
Create an Action Plan
Take note of why you’re setting your goals and the individual steps you plan to take.
Make Your Goals Visible
Post your resolutions in a highly visible location so you’ll see them daily.
Partner Up
Team up with someone who has also made a resolution. Make yourself accountable to each other by devising a check-in system once or twice a week.
Set a Timeline
Depending on the type of person you are creating a deadline can either work for or against you. If you benefit from the pressure of a deadline then you’ll find motivation in setting one. If not, just focus on seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and know that every positive action you take is bringing you closer to your goal.
Expect Setbacks
If you happen to fall off the resolution wagon, don’t let it get the best of you. Instead pick yourself up, re-evaluate your approach and come up with a better plan. Recommit and get back on track ASAP. Handle any future setbacks in the same manner.
Celebrate Benchmarks
Reward yourself along the way. While I’m not necessarily promoting individually packaged ‘Turtles’ for chocolate lovers who have vowed to reduce their chocolate consumption, I do feel it’s important to acknowledge your accomplishments in a realistic manner. I also happen to believe in an 80/20 rule, whereby 80% effort is given 20% reward.
Remember the New Year has only just begun. It’s far too early to throw in the towel. A better you is just around the corner.
Published by Sherrie Le Masurier on January 16, 2007 06:06 AM
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