3 Things to Keep in Mind When Making Your New Year’s Resolution
Resolutions are fun, but they almost always require more work than we initially think they will. We make big lofty statements of dreams, people we want to be, how we want to feel, things we want to do, but are quick to abandon them when life hits post-vacation, school starts again, our routines return, and we go back to hitting the snooze button.
No doubt life is tough and can get in the way. And as fun as making resolutions are, not all of them are substantial. These are usually the first to go when rubber meets the road. Saying we want to lose ten pounds by running our first half marathon looks great on paper, but training is hard, time-consuming, and running miles is one thing you can’t cheat on.
How do we make resolutions that are realistic, reasonable, and substantial?
1. Analyze These 3 Things
I’ve read countless articles about this over the last couple of weeks, some I liked, some not so much. Zach Mercurio has great advice on how to set a clear personal vision for 2017, including analyzing what we want to do, how we want to feel, and who we want to be. How we want to feel is impacted by who we are, analyzing who we want to be also stems from what we do. It is out of these reflections that a well-founded personal statement can be created.
2. Be bold, and be real.
An article in Forbes Magazine Online describes it in terms of meat type and percentages. Erik Larson contributes that the type of resolution (i.e. regular baloney, grass-fed baloney, or grass-fed steak) yields the percentage of success rate in the results (regular baloney yields a 10% success rate, grass-fed baloney yields 30%, and grass-fed steak yields a 90% follow through success rate). Weight and workout goals are not bad to set, but most of these are abandoned within the first three months of the new year. Reflecting on point one will help you with point two. Take some time and space, away from the computer and media, and consider what fundamental beliefs are empowering your new resolutions.
3. Simple Logic
Some of the best advice though comes from dailymail.com. It is simple and logical, yet profound. Their wisdom is as follows:
Set realistic goals
Expect gradual changes
We have all heard the myth that it takes 21 days (or another magic number of days) to form a habit. But the truth is, it can vary (see this article). Setting realistic goals doesn’t mean we stop dreaming of the end goal. Using all of the advice listed in this article will help ensure that our realistic and gradual goals point toward the larger goals. They are weighty, full of substance and hope, and point to the people we are and strive to be — people of purpose, people of inspiration, people of change, people of hope.
Happy new year, and happy resolution making!
