The new year gives us all an opportunity to start over, to make changes in our lives that we have been thinking about and to really give everything to improving ourselves. Sadly however, new year’s resolutions rarely last, and by mid-January things are back to normal. My buddy Marc Leder and I decided last year that we wouldn’t allow that to happen, and so we came up with a plan which would ensure that we would stay on track with our resolutions. A year on and Marc and I both managed to achieve what we wanted to, and here is how we did it.
Minimize
The first thing that you need to do if you want to complete your new year’s resolutions is to keep it short and sweet. There is a temptation here to simply list all of the things in your life that you wish to change, but in doing that you won’t be able to give the proper focus to each item. My advice would be to stick to just 2 resolutions, that’s what Marc and I did and it really worked out well for both of us. When you keep it simple like this you can give much more attention and focus to the resolutions which you have chosen.
Map it Out
Something Marc and I realized that we had been doing in previous years was to suggest a resolution, but to never actually look into how we would go about it, what the challenges were, or how we could measure it. One of my resolutions this year was to lose weight, but just saying that isn’t enough. With this in mind, I planned at the end of December exactly how much weight I wanted to lose and by when I wanted to lose it. I also mapped out how I would lose it and what the challenges would be along the way. Not only does this help you to stay on track with your commitments, it also helps you to visualize your goal.
Tell The World
There is something very positive sometimes abut peer pressure and that is why it makes sense to tell as many people as you can, about what you are seeking to achieve. In my case for example I made a point of telling my family and my friends that I was losing weight, and this was a great help whenever I thought about cheating. I knew that my family and friends would pass comments and so I made sure to stay on track. Telling people is a great way to remind yourself of what you are doing and why.
Get Started
I have been guilty of failing to start my resolutions early enough, and then by the time it gets to January 10th, I fail to start entirely. With this in mind then, it makes sense to get started on the 1st of January, or the 2nd at the very latest. Get on with it and give your new year the best possible start.
