It's the day after Thanksgiving and New Year’s resolutions are beginning to swell my brain like yesterday’s swollen belly. I'm sure if you are anything like me, this time of year you are bombarded with emails, conversations and thoughts about new years resolutions. Normally I try to avoid the whole topic, but this year I have decided I will make a strong effort to write my goals down and give it my best effort.
think about "why you want it"
It seems the reason so many people fail to achieve the resolutions they set for themselves is they focus too much on the process of achieving those goals, rather than focusing on why they want to achieve the goal in the first place. If you can spell out why you want to reach the goal, you will have a better chance of actually reaching it.
For example, the #1 goal set each January 1st is to lose weight. So many people are determined to do this as each new year begins, yet so many fail. Why? Because they focus on the process of achieving the goal, rather than why they have the goal in the first place.
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The whole process of losing weight is not at all fun, to be sure. You have to change your routines and eating habits, get moving, be consistent, and be patient as you work through the process. If you decide you are going to walk briskly for 20 minutes each weekday, what happens the first day it rains? You don't do it because it's easy to say, “I don't feel like getting wet -I'll walk tomorrow.” Then you berate yourself when you don't make progress or stick to the plan.
But if you are focused on the “why” of your goal (i.e., having more energy or getting into that swimsuit), then you'll likely be thinking, "Ok, I'll walk in the rain holding an umbrella," or "Where can I take my walk without catching pneumonia?"
...concentrate on the positives of the "why," not the negatives of the “process.”
So here's my New Year’s resolution: I have resolved to only write down goals for which I have a strong reason for actually achieving. I'm forgetting what everyone else's goals are this year. I'm forgetting what everyone else says you should be able to accomplish. I'm going to focus only on the "WHY."
I'm going to figure out the reason for the goal first, then keep that "why" in clear view by focusing on how I'll feel when I achieve the goal. I'm going to concentrate on the positives of the "why," not the negatives of the “process.”
With all the new technologies out there, you can achieve more than you ever before thought possible, but there still may be things that just aren't within reach for you right now.
Be realistic. Set tangible, attainable goals so you can get satisfaction from achieving more and more of your objectives.
GET OUT THERE!
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