The words “New Year’s Resolution” have a negative stigma associated with them to me. I constantly hear people saying they are making resolutions to be more financially independent, lose weight, travel more, connect more spiritually to God, and the list goes on and on and on… By the end of the year, many of them have failed at more than one of their “resolutions” and are back at it again for the next year. I, too, was guilty of making these unrealistic (or even realistic) blanket statements, but it wasn’t until I changed my wording and way of thinking that I fully embraced what I had in store for the me in the “New Year”. Here are some tips to help you think more realistically about your resolutions and conquer them as best as you can.
Everyday is a start of a New Year. Why are you waiting to reinvent yourself on January 1? There is much improvement to be made year-round, so think of everyday as the beginning of a “new year”. Changing your outlook on when you are allowed to “change” will help you adapt to change easier. It also prompts a new way of thinking in which you can understand that you should not have to be complacent and feel less than adequate (consciously and subconsciously) when you don’t reach your resolution. Speaking of which…
Ditch the word resolution and replace it with goal. A resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. A goal is a plan of action. With a resolution, you are boxing yourself into an either/or decision – either you will lose weight, or you won’t. However, you are forgetting a vital part of achieving your resolution – a plan on how to do it. With a goal, you actually can track your progress and it is measurable. To ensure you are able to achieve your goals…
Make realistic goals. If you know that you want to get your Master’s for the New Year, allow yourself to first get accepted, complete the program and then graduate. Note to yourself that all of this will not happen within a year, and that is okay. Setting the goal of getting into grad school and completing a semester (or two) may be a more realistic goal for the new year (short term goal). Taking it a step further, if you want to make the goal of achieving a Master’s degree, allow yourself time to complete the required courses for that (long term goal). Another example could be getting out of debt. You didn’t get into debt overnight, and if you did, then I need for you to understand that it will take time for you to get out. Developing a financial plan over a course of a year or two could benefit you. You know the direction you are going, and by having that plan you are able to stay on track…
Set and adhere to deadlines. If you want to lose 50 lbs for the new year, set weigh in dates that will require a certain amount of pounds to be lost by that time. Mid-year, you may want to be at the -25 lbs mark. Maybe you know during the holidays you like to over eat, or during the summer you are going to the Bahamas and you want to have that va-va-voom body to go with that perfect getaway, so you may need to lose weight faster than by the “next year”. Give yourself a time frame and hold yourself accountable for reaching your goals. If there is no accountability, what are you doing it for?
Be passionate. Don’t make goals for others, make them for yourself. Just because your mother wants you to be married by the end of next year doesn’t mean that is something you need to complete. You will have to want to achieve these things in life in order to be completely successful. Take the time to take inventory on what you are passionate about, what you want to achieve, and some things that you’d like to do for yourself.
So remember: Have a vision and make it into a goal. Don’t limit these goals to a year, but give yourself a timeline to get them done. Hold yourself accountable for making these decisions. Live everyday like it is your new beginning!! – START NOW! #nolimit (not the record company, either)
