Happy 2013! As the clock struck midnight and we all began celebrating the New Year, some of us began to formulate our New Year’s Resolutions. I want to lose weight! I’m going to eat healthy! I’m going to the gym! I want to save more money or pay off debt! I want more time in my life! These are all typical resolutions people make each year. While most people strive to achieve their goals, by the end of January, the motivation has gone along with the resolution.
Here are 7 ways to make resolutions work for you now:
- Make ONE resolution you can work on and keep. It then becomes your priority and it is easier to maintain motivation.
- The resolution must be for YOU and you alone. Trying to make and keep a resolution for someone else can create obstacles if you are not fully committed to maintaining the momentum.
- Impose SELF-DISCIPLINE on your resolution. No one said it would be easy, which is why resolutions are so easily broken. Studies have shown it takes a full 30 days to unlearn old habits and begin to form new. There will be stumbles and struggles along the way, but keep moving forward and before you know it, June will be here and you are half way to your goal.
- Create an ACTION PLAN. Take the entire resolution and break it down into small manageable steps. Manageable steps are easily attainable. Keep weekly records of the progress towards your goals.
- Create a VISION for your goals. If you are saving for a vacation, tear out a picture in a magazine of your dream destination, or go to a local travel agent and ask for a brochure for the islands, or Machu Pichu, or Costa Rica, or an Alaskan Cruise. Then put that picture in a place you see every day with a jar resting beside it. When you save on going out to eat or skip buying a dress, put that money into the jar. By the end of the year, you will be well on your way to your vacation goal.
- ENCOURAGEMENT! Encourage yourself. Give yourself positive feedback. You skipped the daily latte in favor of a brew at home cup of joe, so give yourself a pat on the back and put that extra $4 toward your vacation! You lost an inch at the gym – splurge and have a Hershey’s Kiss. Chocolate raises endorphins and motivates you to work harder towards your goals.
- Get SUPPORT. If you have a hard time going to the gym, ask a partner to go with you. If you and your partner are saving together, compare at the end of the day what you each saved and give each other a high five.
Goals can be met, and resolutions can be kept. Don’t give up — the result is far more rewarding than quitting so early.
~Robin Weber, PHR
Human Resources Manager at DPP
Photo Source: Flickr
