My resolution is....
It is an age old tradition. Every year either before or within a few days after the first of January, folks all over the world make the annual declaration of their "New Year Resolutions". Apparently (and hopefully) an assessment was made of life experience from the past twelve months and a determination was made that life would be better if one or more changes were made.
All of that sounds great. Or at least it would if a proper assessment were made and a list of well advised, achievable changes were written down.
The idea of a new beginning is a wonderful thought for just about everyone. The idea that you would have a chance to recreate or readjust things in your life that would make the future much better is enticing. Generally, we all have this same desire. But sometimes the pain of change prevents us from following through.
One statistic states that less than 8% of people who set a new year resolution actually achieve it. Maybe it's a lack of willpower. Or perhaps its something unreasonable. Nonetheless, there are a few things that you can do when setting your resolutions that can and will help you follow through in accomplishing your goals. Here are just a few:
Keep it simple
In our reality TV-filled society, there is one type of programming that has proven to be one of the most popular genres than any other, the extreme makeover. We love seeing a person's body or car or home or relationship evolve from near disaster to one of a beautiful metamorphosis. That's probably something any of us would love. Unfortunately, many people resolve to make some monumental change or extreme makeover in their own lives and the vast majority of these folks fall flat into failure upon seeing the magnitude of the challenge.
The truth is that the resolution they have made is just a fairytale and not a real goal. That gargantuan goal they have set is so ominously large that their chances of succeeding in achieving it have become nearly insurmountable. It is more sensible to set small, simple, achievable goals throughout the year, rather than a singular, overwhelming goal
Make it tangible
As stated above, we love the inspiring, failure-to-success stories, especially of the underdogs in the world. When we see or hear about them, we tend to believe and embrace the idea that anything anyone else can do, I can do, too. All too often, we make some ambitious, general resolution without any tangibility, like, "I'm gonna lose weight in 2019." Honestly, a statement like that has no real chances of lasting success because there is no plan behind it.
When making your resolution, be very specific with dates and schedules. That is a good way of making it tangible.
Stay accountable
One of the simplest ways of not achieving your resolution or goal is to not let anyone else know about it. Confide in one or more friends your resolutions. A good friend is one who loves you and believes in you and who can help you stay on track in achieving your goals. This is someone you can (and will) be gut-level honest with when they ask you how you are doing on reaching your levels. This is also someone who is not afraid to confront you and get in your face to motivate you when you don't reach a level. Regardless of any confrontation, this person is probably a life-long friend!
Finally, believe in yourself
If you don't think you can do something but write it down as a resolution anyway, the chances are extremely great that you will never achieve it. You definitely have to believe you can do this!
Having someone else believe in you is very important. But if you don't believe in you, that borrowed belief will only last so long. Believe!
You can do this!!
