Resolutions: To Do or NOT to Do

The New Year and New Decade is here!  (This is written on Dec 30, 2019)

Have you taken some time this week for retrospection and evaluating where you REALLY want your life to go in 2020?

What do you want new, different, more of, less of, improved in 2020 and beyond?

Do you have desires around weight loss, fitness, financial, relational, personal development, adventure, personality, social, spiritual growth, travel, fun…..

If you have not reached your full potential in every area of life, then defining or revisiting your life vision and goals is critical to charting a course to your best life.  

However, it is small steps that move us toward our big goals.  Adopting new behaviors or removing behaviors that don’t align with our best self are the keys to making lasting change.   Making New Year’s resolutions is an opportunity to start making the changes that we have been considering for weeks, months and even years.

So, what’s the difference between a resolution and a goal?

Resolution:  a firm decision to do or not to do something permanently

Goal: a very specific statement of what you want to achieve by a certain date

If there is planning and effort until you reach a specific achievement, it's a goal.  If you know you need to make specific permanent behavior changes to be living your best life, these can be your resolutions.   

One of the best gifts that you can give yourself is to sit down and earnestly prepare a list of important lifestyle changes you know that you want to make. If you are making resolutions, they should be a serious decision for you.  You should be making a commitment to keep doing them every day for permanent benefits.  Consider making resolutions that are not just until a specific achievement is reached. 

Sometimes we fall short on sticking to behavior we are trying to change.  EVERY day is a fresh opportunity to renew your resolve. Resolutions will be challenging to stick to because you are breaking or making a new habit that has served you in some way.   

Truth be told, most of us fail to stick to our resolutions.  We forget, we get distracted, or we just don’t want to make the trade-offs to get our desired results.

Do you recycle resolutions?  Year after year do you state the same intentions, make the same promises, and then repeat the same behaviors and excuses that don’t get you new results?

Failed resolutions lead to lack of self-confidence, frustration and the same old results. I want to give you some keys to make resolutions that can bring about lasting change for unlocking more of your best life.

You are worth the lifelong benefit of the resolutions you chose to make.

12 key steps to making powerful resolutions:

1. Brain dump every lifestyle change you have considered making to be the best version of you.
2. Get specific about how this change would unlock your best life.
3. Be very clear about what behavior you need to commit to do or not do for new results in this area of life.
4. Seriously weigh the pros and cons of making each a permanent change.
5. Research the resources to be successful making this change.
6. List out all the possible obstacles.
7. Meditate, pray, journal, consider what each resolution would really mean for your life.
8. When you are ready, commit to only 1-5 resolutions you are ready to start this year.
9. Pick a start date for each.
10. Make a commitment card for each resolution stating the exact behavior you are resolving to change and why.
11. Share your commitment with 1-2 other people.
12. Celebrate your commitment to the new habits and behaviors with great resolve!

These 12 steps are intended to help you make truly meaningful resolutions.   When you own the importance of change you want to make beyond a fleeting thought, your resolve will be strongest for success!

Once you have settled on your 1-5 resolutions, how do we make them stick?

I want to give you a few key questions that will help you keep your resolutions.  If your commitment to your resolution starts to waiver, come back to YOUR answers to these questions to strengthen your resolve.

7 Key questions to strengthen YOUR resolve:

How will a feel when I make it a permanent habit? 

• Identify the actual emotional payoff when this resolution is implemented no longer challenging to maintain?

What else might I need to support this behavior change?

• Identify specific money, time, other people, etc.

What can I put in place to help me recommit daily?

• Consider a post-it note or a reminder on your phone or an some other effective reminder and affirmation of your “why”.

How will you journal to evaluate setbacks?

• Be clear on your system to analyze anytime you fail to follow through so that you can make the necessary adjustments.

How can I reward myself along the way?

• Don’t wait until your resolution is completely mastered.

How will you commit to give thanks for your resolution daily?

• Make a daily practice of giving thanks for the decision and action you are taking to be a better version of yourself.

YOU GOT THIS! 

The fact that you value yourself enough to make resolutions and put in the effort is worth acknowledging.  Most people don’t get serious enough about personal growth and improvement to get actual results.  Growth is not about perfection; it is about progress. Take time to affirm yourself for making the effort.  Keep your sights on the positive results of maintaining your resolution and step into it, one day at a time.    

DO IT NOW!

YOU ARE WORTH IT!