Have you made your 2019 New Years Resolutions yet?
It’s January 9th and many have already made them, broken them and abandoned them. Are you in one of those groups? Kudos to those who are out there and are still plugging along either motivated or unrelenting. Keep going… You are making a difference for yourself!
This year I was in the “Didn’t Make One” group. It’s frustrating to know that, as much as I’d like to keep them, it probably won’t happen for me. I know many of you are in that group also.
But what should we really know about “New Years Resolutions”?
First… they are easier to make than to keep. (I know… a real no-brainer there.) But seriously, why are we so motivated to set up goals for ourselves that we are destined to break? Maybe there’s a better way.
Resolutions have a positive impact on us when:
- It’s something we REALLY want and we have a dream that we BELIEVE we can see it completed!
If you have a resolution that fits into this belief set, then you have the ability to carry it out.
Start your successful journey down the Resolutions Road by determining what type of goal you want to work on. I’ve always thought of Resolutions as coming in one of 3 types:
- Tasks
- Long-term and Short-term goals
- Lifestyle changes
It’s important to get them in the right category in your mind to achieve true success. For example, a desire to lose weight is often thought of to be a long- or short-term goal depending on how quickly you are wanting to get to your “goal” weight. But this would be your first mistake. Weight loss is generally something that people want to achieve and then… KEEP IT OFF! But thinking of it in the light of being a goal implies that we are finished when we get there. That will not keep the weight off, though, unless we are willing to continue what it took to get there. So… in reality, a weight loss resolution should be considered in the light of a lifestyle change.
Long- and short-term goals have an end. They may take a week or a month or years, but there is a completion time when you will not need to continue. For example, a renovation or a college degree.
A task is generally the quickest to complete, like reorganizing your closet or writing your first blog post. 🙂
Getting your head around the type of resolution you are considering will help you stay the course until it is completed. You won’t lose your motivation as easily if you already have a realistic idea of what is involved. Don’t kid yourself about “quick fix” resolutions or overwhelm yourself over a do-able task.
Take a few minutes (or days) to consider what you want to accomplish. If lists don’t overwhelm and stress you out, I recommend creating a list of things you want to do and then prioritizing them. If such a list is more than you can deal with, think about what means most to you that you can accomplish in a reasonable time and choose that one to work on. Definitely recognize which type of “resolution” you are planning. It will help you to keep on track and see small successes along the way to a larger goal. It can also help you to plan a workable time to finish smaller goals. Larger goals can be broken down into smaller tasks that are easily completed and smaller tasks can be organized to complete larger pictures.
Take the time to prepare yourself mentally for the tasks and resolutions you want to accomplish and you will see success more often!
Join me in the next blog as I discuss the types of resolutions and ways we can conquer them.