With the holiday season so close and New Years a stone’s toss away, it’s time once again to try the old resolution commitment. As you know, this is when we make a collective promise to ourselves about something we want to change for the upcoming year, and it can involve anything. But, the thing about resolutions is that they’re ideas. They sound great in our head, and so does the end result, but once the execution comes into play, people waiver.
That’s because a resolution requires work, and it’s easy to forget that. Oh sure, losing fifty pounds for the new year is an ambitious goal, and sure, maybe the night you think of it you have all the energy and momentum. You’ve watched all those inspiring YouTube videos and feel the inspiration. And then you get down to brass tax and, well, a couple weeks later the habit didn’t stick.
This is where many get confused. Making a resolution is about attaining a reasonable goal. Often, resolutions fail because they are, again, only ideas. Easier said than done, right? So, what do you do? Not make them at all? You could. Or, you could try something different.
Make the Resolution Reasonable
Take a step back. The flaw of a New Year’s Resolution generally starts with the promise itself – in that it’s too much. “But, I can do it, I can do x,” you may say. And that’s true, you’re entirely capable of reaching your goals, if it’s reasonable. There’s nothing wrong with a goal of say, weight loss or increased financial stability. But it’s more reasonable to say, “I’ll lose fifteen pounds by x” instead of “I’ll lose all this weight,” and so on.
Create a Plan
If the notion of creating a scheduled plan to reach your resolution goal is off-putting, then you’re off to a bad start. Whatever you want to accomplish, it requires steps. “This year, I want to pay off this credit card.” Great! Now, what steps are you taking? What plan is there to achieve this goal? You’re imagining the finish line, but not the practice.
Creating a plan in this circumstance would be “I’ll pay x every week so I can pay off the card by this date.” The other resolution is “I’ll just pay it off.” Reaching your resolution requires answering the “how,” so keep that in mind.
Start Small
Resolutions are big, lofty things, which is why they fall flat. Try something smaller, something you can achieve in say a month, or less. You’ll feel better for doing it. For example, “I’ll read that book I’ve been hearing about.”
Again, you’ll want a plan, such as time to set aside and a minimum number of pages read, but finishing a book is, at least, a goal.
Finally, here’s a big secret. You don’t have to wait on a New Year’s Resolution, you can start any time!
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