 If you're thinking about New Year resolutions, but you've not been very successful in sticking to them in the past, here are a few things to ponder:
1. Avoid "Should" All to often our New Year resolutions consist of things we think we "should" do, rather than things that we really WANT to do and that can be a recipe for failure. "Should" often doesn't have a huge degree of committment attached to it, so there's not a lot of energy there to push you through the hard times. It reflects more of a wish than a decision. 2. Make a Decision And when it comes to sticking to your New Year resolutions, it's the decision that counts. You have to decide that your goal WILL be achieved, regardless of the level of difficulty and sacrifice. And if you can convince yourself that not sticking to your resolution will have a painful or very undesirable consequence then that's always a good motivator. Moving away from something you don't want can be more motivating than moving towards something you do want - and if you can get both towards and away from motivations into the mix, you'll likely be even more successful. 3. Keep it in Perspective All to often we choose one or two resolutions to improve our lives, forgetting about all the other aspects. It's not much good dedicating all your time to being fit and healthy if those around you are feeling neglected and ignored. Look at your life as a whole and ensure there's a good balance. 4. Be Realistic Changing habits is better viewed as a long term prospect, because if you don't stick at it, the effort has been wasted. Keep your goals realistic and settle for a lower target that you can achieve and sustain - a small change for the better that lasts a lifetime is better than a big change that lasts a couple of months. 5. Learn From the Past Look at the year just ending: do a quick review of what you want to bring into the new year and what you want to leave behind. Learn from past mistakes and let them go - after all, to paraphrase Einstein: the definition of madness is to keep doing something in the same way, but to expect the result to be different. 6. Be SMART in your Goal Setting Smart goals are now part of the business lexicon, so most people are aware that goals are more likely to succeed if they are Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Realistic and Timebound. 7. Remember WHY Ask yourself why you want your goal because 'the why' of it really locks you into the passion and gives you the energy to push through when the going gets tough. If you're not clear why you're doing something, you'll really struggle to give it time and attention. And if you want a more structured, planned approach to choosing your New Year resolutions as well as more times on how to stay on track you can download my FREE Supercharge Your Results in 2018 Workbook. Written by Doris Wylie of Lothian Reflexology: therapy for mind, body and beauty. Lothian Reflexology offers holistic bodywork therapies such as Reflexology and Indian Head Massage, mind and emotional support through Stress Management and Neuro-Linguistic Programming and beauty treatments such as Pedicure and Rejuvenating Facial Massage, (because looking good helps you feel good).
1 Comment
 I must admit to being pretty left brain and a bit of a straight line thinker and I have to say creativity is not my strong suit, so when I'm going through my annual planning process it can be a bit uninspiring ... boring even.
And you know what, I don't always achieve my goals. Most years I begin with a HUGE, and I mean REALLY HUGE, "to do" list and often times it's more about what I think I should do, rather than what I really want to achieve. No wonder then, that I get bogged down in the detail of the to do list and forget what it was all about in the first place. But this year has been different, very different. I've discovered a system that has helped me look at my planning process in a much more creative way and I must say, I've had a really fun few days working through it. It's more than a bit "girly" and I really love the fact that each page is in full colour with lovely drawings. It's fun and whacky, but it also asks some great, and thought provoking, questions that really get me thinking. The author, Leonie Dawson is a bit of a cookie, hippy character from Australia and I really love her authenticity and her great good sense in making the whole process fun but also very insightful. She does both a business planner and a personal/life planner and the can be purchased both as digital or print version and I think they're absolutely great. If you want to find out more, check it out http://tinyurl.com/j8gvk7x. 
I first wrote this article around this time last year, and I make no apologies for re-posting it again today... Because I heard recently that most people manage about 9 days of their New Year resolutions before they give up. So if you've had great intentions regarding the changes you'd like to make this year, but find sticking to them much more difficult than you'd thought, here are a few tips to strengthen your resolve:
1. If you've got a goal - WRITE IT DOWN and look at your written goal every day. 2. Be clear about WHY you want your goal - and how much better off you will be once you have it - and write that down too. Write down lots of benefits that achieving your goal will bring you and think about them every day. 3. Imagination is stronger than willpower, so imagine yourself AS YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE. 4. GET EMOTIONALLY INVOLVED. Generate strong feelings of how it would feel when you achieve your goal, get yourself really, really motivated to achieve your goal. 5. Think only in the positive - the brain doesn't process negatives (try NOT thinking about an orange elephant), so FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WANT, rather than what you don't want. 6. Check you can MEASURE PROGRESS towards your goal and break your goal down into smaller manageable chunks. Monitor your success and if you're not meeting your targets, use that as a reason to get even more motivated. Good luck! Lothian Reflexology provides Reflexology for Stress, General Health & Wellbeing, Fertility and Pregnancy. Gift Vouchers Available JANUARY OFFER: Detox Reflexology - 3 treatments for the price of 2 only in January and February. Do you have great intentions, but find putting them into action much more difficult? Here are a few tips to strengthen your resolve:
|
