It’s
a new year, you began it with a bunch of resolutions. You have to get
slimmer, write your blog regularly, do sports, learn a foreign
language, order your documents at work, you have to be more available
for friends and family, you want to stop watching too much TV and
start reading books. You have to do this, you have to do that...
New
Year is the best occasion to start. „Everyone does that, so will I”
- you think.
You
make a list. You think that you will keep your „promise”.
You
wrote around 30 things on the paper. It’s not that bad. Only 30 for
all the year!
First
month passed by, second, third.... hmmm... you’ve read a book,
yes... to your child when you put him to bed!
You’ve
started to do sports... yes.... You went 3 times to the gym and you
realized that lifting a beer is as demanding as lifting weights, so
why bother...
The
year is about to finish now, and you are
destroyed, upset and guilty. You
check what you didn’t do this year! Good job for being a champion
of demotivation!
Does
it make any sense to start every year with hope and finish with
despair?
Maybe
it’s time to do something right for the first time and not
rumble around with thousands of ideas which will make you depressed
sooner or later.
So
chin up! Take a piece of paper and a pen because I have a recipe
which will make your resolutions a reality.
I present you 7 easy steps to make your resolutions work
throughout the year:
1.
First of all.... you should WANT to do what you wrote, so
throw out the word „must” from your vocabulary. A must is not a
pleasure and nobody like to be forced to do stuff, but everybody
likes to want stuff.
Compare:
„I must go on holidays.” and „I want to go on holidays”.
Which of these two sentences sounds better? The first one is a kind
of order. Maybe because your wife/partner/kid is forcing you? The
second one is painted in rainbow colours, it’s positive. You want
to go because you have a pleasure to do so.
2.
Now, when you already know what you want, and not what you must,
write down your resolutions, but... wait a moment!! Not too
fast!
Write
down only 3 of them, yes... THREE resolutions. Three things you
want to do this year.
3.
Write them down as if they are reality, so use present tense to do
it. For example „I’m slim”, „I go to the gym three times
a week.”, „I read one book a week”.
4.
Now make your resolutions SMART. They should be:
S
(Specific)
M
(Measurable)
A
(Achievable)
R
(Relevant)
T
(Time Oriented)
5.
Ask yourself a question: „In the scale form 0 to 10 where 10 means
extremely motivated, where am I?” Write down the answer.
0--------------------------------------5--------------------------------------10
6.
You know where you are on the scale, so what can you do to get a
higher position? Write down your answer.
7.
What difficulties you may find in a way which will prevent from
achieving your goal? How to deal with them? Write it down.
And
now an example. Let’s suppose that your New Year’s resolution is
„doing sports”.
SPECIFIC
Who?
What? Where? When? For What?
„I
go to the gym on XYZ Street, every Tuesday and Friday at 6PM, to be
fit, healthy and feel more energy.”
MEASURABLE
How can I measure my goal? How can
I know it’s achieved?
„I
run on a thread mil for 5 miles without getting exhausted and I make
50 push ups without any problem.”
ACHIEVABLE
Can
I achieve the goal? Is it realistic?
„I
am fit enough to go to the gym and run on a thread mil and do
pushups. There are no contradictions to do that.”
RELEVANT
Do
I really want to achieve this goal? Why?
„Yes,
I want to go to the gym, to be fit, feel better, meet new people and
take care of my body and mind.”
TIME-ORIENTED
When?
How often? Till when?
„I
go to the gym starting from 20 January. I go twice a week, every
Tuesday and Friday.”
MOTIVATION
In
the scale form 0 to 10 where 10 means extremaly
motivated, where am I?
0--------------------------------------5---------------------------(7)-----------10
What
can I do to go higher on the scale?
-
Imagine that you are after physical exercises and I feel pleasant tiredness and satisfaction
-
after every visit to the gym I treat myself: visit in SPA, a cup of good coffee, a glass of wine, a hot bubble bath
-
I have a success diary where I write all the visits at the gym and what I achieved so far
-
I ask a coach or a friend for help to keep me going
OBSTACLES
What
obstacles you can find on your way? How to deal with them?
-
Lack of motivation – visualization of the goal, treat after the gym, reading some inspirational quotes on the Internet, Life-Coaching session, reading my success diary
-
Unexpected event – reschedule the gym to another day (Saturday)
-
sickness – go back to the gym when I feel better and starting to train slowly without getting too tired, during the sickness I analyze my success diary and I keep my motivation up
-
no money to pay for the gym – exercising at home and outdoors, long walks, jogging, bicycle, roller-blades
You
have all you need, so you can start acting!! And when you accomplish
what you wrote, write down new 3 resolutions. Maybe they will not be
called „New Year’s resolutions”, but believe me, every time is
a good time to start! Good luck!
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