It's
time for that annual ritual of making (and breaking) our New Year's
resolutions. There is something about the idea of being able to
start over that motivates us to pause, at least briefly and reflect
on our lives as they are, as well as how we would like them to
be. Yet how many times have you thought back to last year's goals
and found that many or most of them were abandoned or just forgotten
after a few weeks or months into the year?
Many
of us have difficulty following through on our resolutions due
to factors such as choosing unrealistic goals, not making them
challenging enough and/or lacking the necessary motivation to
stick with them. The following tips should help put you on the
right course and assist you in staying committed to your most
important goals for 2005.
Start
with a life vision. If you don't know what you want your future
to look like, how can you decide what areas of your life need
to be worked on? Use the "goal setting
workshop" I've created and give yourself the goals you
need to live the life you desire!
Get organized. Clear away clutter. Go through paperwork,
files, old bills and receipts, closets, drawers and storage containers.
Decide what you need and will use and either throw out or give
away all the rest. Put aside some time each week for this purpose.
After you have cleaned out you can think about your existing systems
for management and storage and see if these need reworking or
just some fine-tuning. Keep ONE calendar to record all appointments,
events, etc. Write down everything - don't rely on memory.
Expand your horizons. Challenging yourself will infuse
you with greater energy and sense of purpose. It will help build your self-esteem
to realise you really are capable of more than you had previously
believed. This new learning can also give you additional resources
to assist you in your career, personal or love life.
Set challenging but realistic resolutions. Choose goals
that stretch your ability muscles, yet are realistic and therefore
less vulnerable to failure. Don't respond to that negative inner
voice that says; "Oh, I'm not capable of that". Instead,
focus on what you truly desire for your life and relationships
and let this be your guide.
Write down your resolutions. Write them down and stick
them on your bathroom mirror, your fridge, your car dashboard,
your desk or wherever you know will be a good place for you to
see them. You can also show them to a good friend, family member,
your coach or anyone who could provide support and encouragement.
Create action steps. A resolution without planned action
is doomed to failure. Break each goal down into small action steps
or objectives. Putting a date for completion will help ensure
you follow through. Come up with an accountability system that
will work for you. Make sure you check off each accomplishment
as you go and be flexible and willing to make adjustments in your
action steps in order to achieve your desired end results.
Set appropriate and healthy limits in all areas of your life.
Knowing your limits and enforcing them with yourself and others
is a prerequisite to a healthy life and relationship. Learn to
say "no" and "enough" and be firm in your
resolve that this is a good thing to do. Otherwise, you will also
be undermining your resolution to take care of yourself.
Work to be the kind of person you want to be. Bringing
out the best qualities in yourself will help to ensure that you
attract people of good quality into your life. You wouldn't want
to compromise on the standards you have set for a potential mate.
Therefore, it's important to understand that this also holds true
for other people in search of relationships.
Now begin this year with the resolve to be the person you know
you have the potential to be. You'll be pleased with the wonderful
changes that await you!
Using this tip, workthrough the easy-to-use goal setting workshop
and I promise you, there'll be immense benefits waiting in your
Christmas stocking next year!
