The New Year is the best opportunity and pretext for a positive change. The change that will get you closer to the place where you’ve always wanted to be. If for any reason you feel discomfort in your life (i.e. lack of time for yourself, a job that isn’t satisfying you, a mess in your house, false friends who bring you down, no accomplishment of your private and business dreams, health problems caused by junk food in your diet, addictions, obesity or underweight, financial problems, etc…), it’s just about time when you can change it all! Believe me, I mean it – I would be steps ahead now if I had treated my new year’s resolutions seriously long ago! I’ll try to convince you it really makes sense, and I will help you prepare your resolutions in a way that their realisation will be at your fingertips! 😉 😉
Why is it important to make resolutions?
Why? Because your decision is a big step in the process of transformation. To move forward you have to get going. Defining your goals for the year is a kind of a set off. It provokes us to analysis of our current position and state of mind. It lets us realize what bothers us in or lives, helps define what we miss to be fully happy. But most of all – the new year’s resolutions introduce the rays of light that fill us with hope for the better and motivate to take actions.
Resolution is a declaration of a plan, then the plan is a build of a road, a road that you will use to move FORWARDS. I believe we should treat this analogy serious.
How to correctly form the new year’s resolutions?
- Start by making a list of things that spoil your everyday life. Write them on a piece of paper, one under another. Then, one by one, ask a question:„What can I do to get rid of this problem?” Write down your answers next to each item on the list. When you are done, highlight the most destructive „obstacles” (obstacles in life) and your ideas for overcoming them. Perhaps they will all seem equally important to you. Very good – your plan will be more interesting! Eliminating everyday inconveniences is a thing that you must do as soon as possible, because they will stop you from realizing your dreams!
- Now take the second card and write your dreams on it – one under another … There are probably fewer of them than the obstacles written on the previous page, and maybe you have only saved one. Wonderful – you have just defined the finish place – the place you are going to, the place where the road you will build will lead. Just stay calm: a dream can not be your new year’s resolution. The resolution is made when you define small and big steps to realize this dream. And the next step will be to write out the individual requirements necessary to make your dreams come true! Now, just think carefully about each of these step-by-step requirements, think about whether you are able to realize them within a year. If not, devide them into smaller „steps”.
- Take another card (I know it’s already the third, but really the last one!). One by one, write down the ideas on getting rid of obstacles highlighted on the first sheet of paper, and the requirements – steps from the second one. Your list of new year’s resolutions is ready 🙂
Here is an example:
| obstacles | solutions |
| My friend X constantly criticizes my actions, ridicules my projects, comments in a dismal manner the elements of my life – it makes me feel worse, decreases my self-confidence | 1. I will tell him / her what I think about this behavior and set the limits firmly specifying what I do not want, or 2. I will limit or terminate contacts with that person |
| I can’t cope with smoking addiction, my physical efficiency is weak, I get tired quickly, I can’t take up physical activity | 1. I will throw away all the cigarettes I have at home, at work and in the car and stop buying them, or / and 2. I will consult a specialist, and / or
3. I will search the internet for ways to quit smoking, I will find the most suitable one for myself and I WILL USE IT |
| a dream | Steps needed for implementation of the dream |
| House by the ocean | 1. I will get the money – too general and long-lasting step, so I spread it into smaller ones:– I will find an additional job (not LOOK FOR <but I FIND)
– I will limit expenses for: alcohol, travel, cigarettes, designer clothes – I will set up a savings account for this purpose and I will post a monthly sum of money, or / and – I’ll take out a loan 2. I will try to convince my relatives – I won’t be living in this house on my own! |
All points on the left of the tables are proposals for New Year’s resolutions. These are, of course, only examples that I’ve come up with right now. But it took me no more than 15 minutes. It is worth devoting this time or even longer to well define the goals 😉
4. I define the time frame
Now you only have to define the so-called deadline, ie the deadline for the implementation of individual solutions, or their stages. You don’t have to do it right away, you already have resolutions, so you will be sure to implement them, dates can be specified in later. However, this is extremely important – without specifying the time frame, you will postpone the implementation indefinitely, and you only have the next year!
5. The last stage – I announce!
And one more important activity: to be sure that you won’t look for excuses in times of doubt, be sure to annopunce your resolutions!!! It can be a message sent to members of your family in an SMS message, or an oral announcement during a meeting with friends (let someone record it!). But if you have the courage, you can post them on FACEBOOK, then more people will control you ;-). You can also present your decision only to the closest person. But absolutely don’t leave your decisions only to yourself!
IDENTIFICATION + ANNOUNCEMENT= REALIZATION
At the end:
Perhaps the realization of your dream will take you several years, maybe a dozen or so. But there is also a chance that the action you take today will unexpectedly bring results much faster.
One thing is certain: if you don’t try, you won’t know and if you don’t move, you will never reach the goal!
I keep my fingers crossed for you!!!
The above article was inspired by my dear Team from Your Life Toolbox and most of all by the leader and founder of the group and an amazing life coach, Jesse Brisendine (https://www.facebook.com/1Year1000Challenge/)
