If you are like most people, the dawning of a new year makes you reflect on your life: what's good, what's not so good, what changes you could make to improve things going forward. Many of you likely came up with the same ole, same ole, and I'm right there with you:
- Lose weight (a perennial favorite)
- Eat healthier
- Get more exercise
- Prospect more
- Blog more regularly
As I reflect back over the years, I can only think of one resolution I made and actually keep to this day: many years ago I resolved to floss my teeth every day. Pretty glamorous, huh? But as I ponder why that particular resolution stuck with me, several thoughts come to mind that may help with keeping the new ones.
1. Don't try to fix everything
This may be THE most important suggestion I can make. No doubt we could all stand to improve ourselves in many ways. Our health, our appearance, our businesses, all can likely use a bit of freshening up. But trying to fix everything becomes overwhelming and the likelihood is that when life gets in the way, as it is wont to do, all your good intentions will go by the wayside. Try to single out the one most important thing to you, the one item that will have the biggest impact in your estimation, and focus on that one.
2. Be specific
Rather than resolving to "get more exercise", resolve to go to the gym four times per week. Pick which days those will be and schedule them into your day planner right now. It doesn't have to be the gym, of course, pick something you enjoy doing, figure out how you will work it in, put it on your schedule, then do it. Rather than resolving to "eat healthier", resolve to increase your intake of specific foods or food groups and eat less of others (you choose which ones, I'm not touching that, too controversial!). Specify how you will accomplish this (planning meals for a week, shop the edges of the store, etc.). Keep track of your results.
3. Make it measurable and realistic
How much weight will you lose? Over what time period? How will you keep it off? How much more will you prospect? How many calls, how many visits, how many postcards? How many blog posts will you write? Be realistic; resolving to eat 500 calories per day and lose ten pounds per week is neither realistic nor sustainable. Think long term: you have the rest of your life to accomplish these goals, don't try to do it all the first month. But do keep track of your progress. How will you know you are being successful and reward yourself appropriately (say, a new outfit after the first five pounds, a special night out for each five new prospects) if you aren't tracking your results?
4. Don't set yourself up for failure with all-or-nones
Don't flat out deny yourself things you love because you feel they "aren't good for you". Don't say "I will give up chocolate." This isn't Lent, this is the rest of your life, hopefully. I am a firm believer in moderation in all things. If you are a life-long carnivore, don't resolve to go vegan in the new year. Alternatively, using this example, resolve to eat three main meals per week that do not contain meat, or to create menus where meat is the accompanyment and not the main event. Be realistic, otherwise you will be likely to blow off the whole thing in short order, and will lose the benefits that would have come from a more moderate approach.
5. Make it a habit
I have read that we must do something repetitively for three months before it becomes ingrained as a habit. Don't know if that is true, but it makes some sense. What I do know is once something becomes a habit, like my tooth flossing, you stop thinking about it and just do it every day. Not doing it doesn't even cross your mind. If you miss a couple of days early on, don't stress about it, just pick up where you left off. Eventually it will "take" and you will have improved your life for the better.
6. Bonus random thought: Remember, it's the little things
You don't have to cure cancer or end world hunger to make your life or the lives of others a bit better. It's the little things that matter. And those are so doable.
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