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New Year’s Resolutions That Really Work

By: Aubrey Moulton

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"I’m going to quit eating sugary snacks." "I will get skinny." "I will write a best-selling novel." "I’m going start budgeting my income." ‘Tis the season for resolutions. You know how the cycle works. You stuff yourself at Thanksgiving and Christmas so you feel like a gravy-drenched blimp by the end of the year. You get stressed out at your job because of the characteristic year-end panic. You get stressed out because of gift shopping and endless parties to attend. It’s no wonder that, by the end, all of us are certain we have weight to lose, bad habits to break, and myriad tasks to improve upon. So when January 1 rolls around, you break out your spanking new planner and enumerate those items you will do the next year to be better, skinnier, or less in debt.

Setting goals is never easy. There constantly seems to be so much on the line in choosing the wrong goal. I mean, why send yourself into a downward, self-defeating cycle by setting setting your sights on something you can’t reach or, on the opposite end of the spectrum, goals that are far beneath your abilities? To help you set goals you can potentially stick to, here are four questions to help you through the process:
1. "Is this resolution feasible?" Pardon me for stating the obvious, but you should set goals that you can actually accomplish. I should not, for example, make a goal to have Brad Pitt’s body type in just one year. Not going to happen. Even with the miracles of modern plastic surgery. Similarly, I should not set goals to give up red meat, stop playing video games, or even invent a workable teleportation device, at least not within the next year.

Know thyself, the saying goes. Know what you can do. Expect great things of yourself but also realize the finest alterations come in small stages. Therefore, refrain from setting unachievable goals. Doing so only erodes your confidence in your ability to reach goals. Go with something you can move toward steadily throughout the year.
2. "Is it measurable?" Although it is a lofty sentiment, it is not enough to resolve to uphold world peace. Why? Because you would have a hard time benchmarking your improvement from day to day. For instance, you might assist an old lady across the street in January. Does that mean your goal has been met? You threw a peace sign to some guy at the store. Are you finished? The truth is, you would never be sure when you reached it or how far you had come.

You can initiate measurable goals by being sure they are more detailed and giving order to them. For example, instead of just promoting world peace, decide to volunteer at a soup kitchen every week. Or resolve to raise $10,000 to aid casualties of racial warfare. Set a goal to take out your neighbor’s trash weekly. As long as you can follow your advancement, you have significantly improved your likelihood of keeping your resolution. Little day to day triumphs also have a tendency to recompense you as you continue trying. It recharges your batteries and helps you keep your resolve steady to pursue this goal even more.
3. "Do I have a plan?" You know how they say, "A dream is just a dream until you have a wokable plan"? Well, maybe you don’t, but they do, you know, They - those people to whom everyone must listen.
Regardless of who They are, it is simple common sense that most goals which do not also include plans usually don’t get reached. It’s like saying to yourself, "I want to go to Panguitch, Utah. I want to go to Panguitch, Utah." Only repeating the words will not immediately take you to the infinitesimal, isolated town of Panguitch. No, you need to unfold the map, find the right direction, and head out. It is just the same with any other objective.

You will not accomplish your goal simply by copying it down. You need to start a plan whereby that goal will be obtained. For instance, if you want to lose weight, make a schedule that tells you what days of the week you will exercise, what foods you will eat, or how you will reward yourself for milestones achieved. The more specific your plan, the better.
4. "Am I committed?" Going into a grueling resolution with only lukewarm commitment almost assures failure. And then you put yourself into the uncomfortable situation of resolving to more fully keep resolutions. So only determine to do a thing that is significant enough to you to stick with it for an entire year. For instance, if you’re thinking of resolving to refinish the kitchen cabinets, but the cabinets are about as high-priority to you as knitting your cousin’s terrier a sweater, you are setting yourself up for failure.

Resolve to do something you are significantly concerned about. Choose something that will warrant your full attention. If the doctor just informed you that you are in danger of contracting kidney disease if you do not stop drinking, then that is probably plenty of incentive to stick with your resolution. If you just decided that you want to look like the Rock because he has cool pants, your commitment may not be solid enough to stay the course.
All four of these questions involve setting yourself up for success, instead of failure. Learn how to set and plan for realistic, measurable goals that you can commit to and you will find yourself actually accomplishing the resolution you make today because you stuck with your personalized plan.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

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