Ah, New Year's Day and the time to pull out those famous (or infamous) resolutions. I've known people who seem to do very well with resolutions. For some they provide that extra nudge of motivation to keep growing and achieving. Awesome!
However, for the rest of us, there are times when making that list of resolutions for the new year can feel like planning ahead for what we will need to feel guilty about at the end of the year. We start out feeling committed and maybe even excited about all that will be accomplished, but after a few months, the energy fades and we find ourselves back on the old path.
Why is that? Could it be that perhaps we are not as gung ho about it in the first place? Are we making that list, not because we really want to, but because we believe we are SUPPOSED to do it? Are we listing the items that we truly want to change, or the ones we think others want us to change?
If you see a bit of yourself in the above description and would like to avoid the "this time, sometime, maybe never" trap, then I might have an idea for you.
Opportunities and ideas come up all the time. Have you ever noticed that when you share a great idea or opportunity with someone, the first thing they seem to do is start to present you with your future excuses for not going for it? I'm not sure what it is in human nature that creates this phenomenon. After a while, we don't even need others to give us all of the "what ifs" and reasons why something may not work, we start doing that on our own.
So, instead of a long list of resolutions, I am making one promise to myself this year. This year when an opportunity or great idea comes along, I promise to ignore the naysayers (myself included) and ask myself one simple question:
"What if everything goes perfectly and this works?"
If the answer to that questions is something that I want, then I promise myself that I will go for it with gusto! That's it. No resolutions, just one promise. The promise to give myself the freedom to succeed.
Whether resolutions or promises, I wish a happy and fulfilling 2012 to all!
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