 Self
Development Best Practices
Are
You a Resolution Keeper?
By B e v v Beirl
Ready or not, 2008 has arrived and you are on your way
to another successful, exciting, and enlightening year.
Or not! You decide. Once a year we get to wipe the slate
clean and “once and for all” do what‘s necessary to
fulfill our dreams and aspirations. The questions are –
are you uncomfortable enough to follow through with your
resolutions? Can you keep your promise to yourself this
year?
Do you really want what you
want?
Traditionally, many of us make resolutions at the
beginning of a New Year. January is also a time when we
evaluate the previous year financially and make
decisions and set goals of where we want to be by the
end of the New Year. As we review our previous year we
must be careful to be gentle with ourselves if we
haven’t accomplished all that we said we were going to
do. It’s very easy to let your gremlin badger you,
saying things like; “You failed again,” or “Why bother
setting goals? You never reach them anyway.”
Expert evaluations have concluded that over 80% of New
Year’s resolutions made are also broken. Some of the
things that lead to this high failure rate are:
unrealistic resolutions; a lack of honest commitment;
forgetting or getting sidetracked putting out the fires
of day-to-day life. One of the easiest ways to increase
your resolution success rate is to take immediate
action.
If your resolution is to obtain more training in your
vocation to further your career, then get on the
Internet immediately and research courses or trainings
that you can enroll in right away. If your resolution is
to eat more healthily, then head for the kitchen to
clean out your cabinet and refrigerator immediately and
make a trip to the grocery store to restock with
healthier selections. If your resolution is to exercise
more, then put down the pencil, put on your
walking/running shoes and hit the road.
After taking the initial, small action step you will
feel successful. Remember that feeling of satisfaction
on day 2 and repeat the small action. Once you take that
very first action, you build your momentum and
accomplish the things you most want to accomplish.
Here are some very simple steps to help you become a
resolution keeper:
1. Make meaningful
resolutions. Avoid getting caught up in what others
are doing and expecting you to do. If your goal isn’t
meaningful to you personally, your failure rate will be
high.
2. Make realistic goals
or resolutions. If you are earning $50,000/year,
don’t expect to be earning $250,000/year by taking a few
classes.
3. Break the resolutions
down into obtainable steps. If you have resolved to
lose 20 pounds, begin taking a brisk walk around the
block after dinner five nights a week and cutting soda
from your diet. After 2 weeks, increase the walk and cut
butter from your diet.
4. Think of failures as
lessons. Pilots and sailors know that correcting
their course constantly will get them from point A to
point B. Don’t give up on a resolution because you had a
little side trip. Just correct your action the next day
and keep moving forward.
5. Share your resolution
with someone. When you verbalize the resolution to
someone else, you give yourself another reason to stick
with it. It’s easy to personally accept failure and
berate ourselves; however we usually don’t want to
appear as a failure to others. The person should be
someone who is supportive of you.
6. Write out your
resolution. Write your resolutions and make it a
habit to review them once a month. Circle that day on
the calendar right now. I mean right now!
As we enter our new year,
remember that there’s nothing you can do to change 2007
and remembering all your failures or mistakes only eats
away at your self-worth and self-esteem. 2008 awaits you
with a clean slate. Take some time to sit and ponder
what is most important to you. Is it a career change, a
better marriage, to be more organized, to be more
patient with your kids or coworkers? Do you want to
stick to your budget, save more money, or read more? If
you can identify your most passionate and primary goals,
you will become a resolution keeper!
Bevv Beirl is a successful businesswoman who has
written and spoken on human potential for over 25 years.
Bevv is also the editor and CEO of Bay Area Business
Magazine and can be reached at:
editor@BABM.com
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