It seems to be tradition that we want to make meaningful changes in our lives. What better way to make a new change at the beginning of a new year? Everyone who has experienced making one knows it’s quite a challenge. It’s a really difficult pursuit to quit a long-standing habit. In fact, such resolutions falter after the first few weeks of the New Year! About 20% of people go back to their past year’s practice and slowly throwing out the resolution after a month. By the middle of 2013, it’s likely that over half of those who made resolutions would totally put their commitments aside.
It is interesting to note as well that those who have had relatively notable success in past New Year’s resolution are likely to do 78% better in 2013. People who resolved to do better at work and business and experienced positive results are in good standing as well for the next year. In the meantime, those who were interested in solving their problems but didn’t go past the sixth months of last year are likely to do much less. Their success rate of just 8% last year would likely go lower. Those who made life-changing resolutions and got a success rate of over 40% are projected to get over 83% when 2013 ends.
Among the most common resolutions with notable success rates are less alcohol consumption, taking trips and vacations, learning a new skill, managing stress or getting better education. Coming in second from the top resolutions with good statistics at success would be doing volunteer work, saving money, getting fit and losing weight, and career productivity. Those with poor marks at success ratings would be resolutions on quitting smoking, overcoming emotional issues leading to various forms of addiction, overspending and debt management.
If you’re bent on making changes in your life for this budding, then you must know that setting New Year’s resolution would need a really strong will, discipline and desire. It is goal setting. It must be based on the knowledge that the achievement will make life better. Your success at setting New Year’s resolution should also provide you that sense of completion and self satisfaction. The decision must come from within you and not pressure upon you by others.
The essentials of goal setting in business are strongly similar to resolution for the New Year. To better explain, here is what you must note to have easier but most effective ways to end next year with success:
1. Make it specific.
What is the figure or number that you must resolve on following? People often just say they will start losing weight as soon as January 1 comes in. Many others say they will drink less or go to the gym more often. After a few months, they aren’t quite sure how they have fared at it. This is because generalizing your resolution makes it immeasurable. But when you make it specific, setting New Year’s resolution can come really clear.
If you want to lose weight, decide how many pounds you want to lose. If you want to cut expenses, know how much less you need to spend each week or each month. When you make your goal specific, you know how to achieve that figure or numbers and find it easy to monitor how you’re doing at it.
2. Make it realistic.
Anyone can wish on a star but their actions speak for themselves. People who dream big but know so little and lack the discipline about achieving that dream often find themselves with just a dream. Plus, they get loads of frustration about life and themselves for not achieving their dream. Anchor your goal in reality.
A realistic goal is something you want for yourself that can be achieved; an unrealistic one is something you wish to become or have based on how you want people to see you. It is rooted on others’ definition of who you are or who you must be, and thus, makes the New Year’s resolution or goal unrealistic.
3. Make it known.
Those who have been successful with their New Year’s resolutions got by with a little help from people around them. It could be their closest friends, people from work, a mentor or their family. By making your aspiration known to others who play a significant role in your life, you get support along the way. At the same time, you get reminders every now and then that the efforts need to be consistent. Some friends or family members often check and see how you are doing with your weight loss program or the stress-reducing calendar at work.
4. Make it measurable by time.
Deadlines might be a stressful word for some. But if you’re setting New Year’s resolutions with no timeframe in mind, chances are, you have the rest of this century to achieve it!
It is vital to make your goals measurable by periods. If you plan to quit drinking or smoking before June next year, don’t quit when it’s the end of May. Instead, cut down the alcohol starting on New Year’s eve with gradual decrease for the next few weeks. After three months, check how you are doing. The same way with cigarettes, just quit as soon as you decide to quit. If it’s too difficult after years of nicotine addiction, settle with fewer sticks a day until June sees you totally free from the nasty habit.
5. Make it fun and rewarding.
Setting New Year’s resolutions aren’t meant to be punishments or agonizing efforts, but what comes ahead is a rewarding end. That makes the goal meaningful.
The element of enjoyment over sticking to your New Year’s resolution need not be in the difficulty but what you would put in place of what you’re going to cut off or lose There is a great advertisement for breakfast cereal. Follow their plan and lose weight. Their motto is :what will your gain when you lose”. You see people climbing on the scale and not seeing pounds, but seeing words such as “joy”, “self-confidence” and so on. There is a reward for losing weight, not just fewer pounds on the scale.
Good luck with your goals! And if buying a new home, downsizing, or just a change of scenery is one of your goals, I can help! I’m just a call or click away: http://www.NormaSellsNJHomes.com