If you’re like most people, you just made a New Year’s Resolution.
If you’re like most people, by March your resolution will be a thing of the past and your confidence in your ability to stick to your goals will have slipped another notch.
It’s a shame. It’s especially a shame because the we have so little control over things in the world. But we DO have control over our behaviors; such as our ability to make a goal and stick with a it. A loss of confidence is a loss of hope.
Why do people fail to accomplish their goal year after a year?
They failed to make their goal a habit.
By making a New Year’s Resolution, you are making a LIFE CHANGE. A life change requires a change of HABIT.
Here is a brief exercise to help you “get” the significance of this change.
Fold your arms. PLEASE, actually DO this right now. Don’t just read through this.
No, I’m serious. Please fold your arms.
Great! Thank you.
Now, fold your arms the other way – a way you do not normally fold your arms.
Now, before you continue I ask that you think of 4-5 words you would use to describe how you feel (with your arms folded the “wrong” way).
You probably came up with words like “awkward”, “weird”, “unnatural”, “uncomfortable” or even “wrong”.
Honestly, is there a “right” way or a “right” way to fold your arms? No. There is just different. If I asked you to fold your arms the new way several times a day over the next month, the new way would eventually become comfortable. This is an important thing to know as you are making your life change: discomfort is not necessarily a bad thing. It can even be feedback to you that you are on the right track; feedback that you are doing something different – you are changing your life.
So, how do you successfully fold your arms a new way? How do you keep your New Year’s Resolution?
Let’s start with the essential: the bullet points of creating a good goal.
A good goal needs to have a time frame.
It should be measurable. This also means that you also need to know your baseline.
It should be do-able.
Try to use positive language.
Your goal should be something YOU can control.
For more detail, click here.
For specific tips, click here.