It’s time to start thinking about how you’re going to spend 2014. Many of you started making your list of resolutions and are planning to sticking to them…. (this year).
The only problem is, right around mid January, things fall apart and you give up on all your resolutions.
Here’s five reasons to give up on making New Year’s Resolutions:
- They put you in a “do-or-die” mentality. It’s all or nothing with no wiggle room for mistakes. The reality is that we all make mistakes even when we’re trying to do our best. Those who end up finding success are the ones who realize that mistakes are not the end of the world. They’re opportunities to learn, grow and try again. The only time you’ve failed is when you stop trying.
- Transformation shouldn’t be something you commit to only once a year. Personal growth and improvement should be an ongoing process. If you think as short-term as one year to complete a long-term goal, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Think about it this way: it’s taken you a lifetime to become the person you are today; give yourself a reasonable timeframe to transform into the person you want to become.
- Resolutions almost force you to try and complete them all at once. That might be part of why only 8% of Americans are successful in reaching their New Year’s resolutions. Making major goals without a plan to reach them one day at a time, is a sure way to sabotage your success.
- They’re overrated. People sometimes make resolutions just so they’ll have something to talk about at the water cooler on January 2nd. Optimism is one thing, reality is another.
- They haven’t worked in the past because you have more work to do. The only way to create sustainable change for yourself is to address the deeper root cause(s) of why you haven’t been able to keep your resolutions in the past. And that usually requires more work than one resolution can cover.
Instead, set long-term goals and look at each year as an opportunity to get closer to those goals—leaving room to assess your progress and adjust your plan along the way.
- Create a vision of what you want your next year to look and feel like. A vision board is a great way to do this. Writing things down also works. You are more likely to reach a goal that you write down and/or visualize than one that stays only in your head.
- Take time to celebrate your successes. Acknowledge the progress that you’ve made, however minor and then keep working at it.
- Create an action plan. You’ve got to set up mini-goals to help you reach the bigger goal. Reaching each milestone will give you fuel to get to the next one.
- Find someone to hold you accountable. It has been documented that telling others about your goal makes it more likely for you to reach it.
- Be willing to dig deep. True success requires a holistic approach: body, mind and spirit. If you’re not willing to do the spiritual and emotional work that it takes to be healthy, it will be very difficult to meet and then maintain the goals that you’re working so hard to reach.
From: BMWK
