Make that ChangePeople use the New Year for an excuse to make a resolution. Forbes Magazine says "University of Scranton research suggests that just 8% of people achieve their New Year’s goals "and those who don’t usually abandon them after just one week.
Many people use this time to create a mountain instead of a goal. Extreme make-overs and large bucket list of things they want to do all end up in warehouse of abandoned good intentions. So this year here is my recommendation. Set a goal for the year and resolve to to a small goal that leads to it. One better would be make a plan with small goals and celebratory awards. You should always celebrate your accomplishments to help you remember and push you forward.
Make it Tangible
Setting ambitious resolutions can be fun and inspiring. We forget that the difficulty in achieving them means that your excitement can quickly give way to frustration. That’s why our goals need to have an achievable metrics, bound by reasonable self expectations and when we can with a partner to push us.
A resolution to lose some weight is not that easy to follow, instead focus on cutting out fast food and soda for six weeks. Be as specific don’t just say you’re going to start going to the gym in set a clear ambition, like attending a weekly spin class or lifting weights every Tuesday or Thursday.
John Norcross of the University of Scranton says “If you can’t measure it, it’s not a very good resolution because vague goals beget vague resolutions.”
Make it Obvious
I recommend earlier charting your goals in some fashion and set celebratory markers, there’s no universal strategy for success. "For some, making a clear to-do list is enough of a reminder; others rely on “vision boards”or personal diaries." say Dan Diamond of Forbes Magazine
A new emerging tactic is to share your goals with your social network. It’s just another way to build accountability, especially in the era Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Here is an example I found in the same Forbes article. "After a woman named Anna Newell Jones ran more than $23,600 into debt, she made a New Year’s resolution to work her way out of it–and publicly. As part of that effort, Newell Jones launched a blog, And Then We Saved, to chronicle her attempt to go from shopaholic to spendthrift; in less than a year and a half, she’d paid off her debt."
Will Power: Don't Stop Believing
Just by simply setting a goal you raise your chances of achieving that goal, significantly. Remember to expect within weeks or months that you will hit bumps in the road that throw you off your stride. Most people begin abandoning their resolutions this is where you just go back to that plan you made.
More often than not, people who fail to keep their resolutions blame their own lack of willpower. In one study led by a Stanford University psychologist, scientists gauged whether test subjects believed they could exhaust their willpower, and sought to convince them otherwise. The researchers found that people “performed better or worse [on tests] depending on their belief in the durability of willpower.”
Friends essentially you have as much willpower as you think you have, which means that on your journey toward self-improvement we are in full control of our pace and progress or just quitting. This is someway is a self fulfilling prophecy. Remember the song Man in the Mirror sung by Micheal Jackson: "I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror, I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways…"
My Own 2013 Resolutions
I would not leave you with out some of my own plans and plots for 2014. Here’s my own list of goals for the New Year:
1. After spending 2013 in resolution of introspection and growth I plan on moving forward in
creating my own business.
2. I will go back to the gym 3 times a week.
3. I'd like to continue writing and finally publish a book.
4. Finish my teaching credential and start paying of my school debt.
5. Create and follow a solid schedule to stick too.
Lets plan the course to race this season. May 2014 be more joyful then the last and a year where all of us get one step closer to shalom.
Will Power: Don't Stop Believing
Just by simply setting a goal you raise your chances of achieving that goal, significantly. Remember to expect within weeks or months that you will hit bumps in the road that throw you off your stride. Most people begin abandoning their resolutions this is where you just go back to that plan you made.More often than not, people who fail to keep their resolutions blame their own lack of willpower. In one study led by a Stanford University psychologist, scientists gauged whether test subjects believed they could exhaust their willpower, and sought to convince them otherwise. The researchers found that people “performed better or worse [on tests] depending on their belief in the durability of willpower.”
Friends essentially you have as much willpower as you think you have, which means that on your journey toward self-improvement we are in full control of our pace and progress or just quitting. This is someway is a self fulfilling prophecy. Remember the song Man in the Mirror sung by Micheal Jackson: "I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror, I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways…"
My Own 2013 Resolutions
I would not leave you with out some of my own plans and plots for 2014. Here’s my own list of goals for the New Year:
1. After spending 2013 in resolution of introspection and growth I plan on moving forward in
creating my own business.
2. I will go back to the gym 3 times a week.
3. I'd like to continue writing and finally publish a book.
4. Finish my teaching credential and start paying of my school debt.
5. Create and follow a solid schedule to stick too.
Lets plan the course to race this season. May 2014 be more joyful then the last and a year where all of us get one step closer to shalom.
