5 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

5 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

I have to say that I have never really believed in resolutions. Well, not in the traditional sense anyway. I believe in making dedicated efforts to improve my life. I believe in setting intentions that will make lasting changes in my life. However, I don’t ascribe the all or nothing perspective to my intentions that seems to come with New Year’s resolutions. I believe in Realutions.

With the New Year right around the corner many people will be making the same resolution they made last year and the year before that. This will last about two weeks and then out of frustration the resolution will fall to the wayside.

What can you do to make this year different? What can you do to make sure your New Year’s Realutions stick? Here are five ways to help you avoid the pitfalls that have struck you down in the past.

Think It Through: One of the biggest mistakes we make is to jump into a resolution without thinking it through. You may resolve to lose weight, quit smoking or work out but those are just words unless they are supported by action. However, the action must be sensible and this requires a plan. How many days a week will you be working out? Do you have a work out buddy? Exactly how will you give up smoking? Do you have moral support in place to get you through the tough days? Regardless of the goal, develop a matching and supportive plan.

Recruit Help: Everyone’s New Year’s resolutions are different. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to go it alone. Your friends, family and coworkers are your biggest allies. Additionally, they have most likely made resolutions that you might be able to support. Tap into each other’s experience, their encouragement and their support to stay focused and strong throughout the year and beyond.

Remember Last Year: You can either learn from the past or you can repeat the past. This year chose to learn from last year. What worked for you last year? What did not work so well? Learn from your mistakes so that you can chart a new course that will stand the test of time. If your realution is to lose weight then look into rearranging your schedule to accommodate going to the gym. Research at home work out programs and DVDs for when you can’t make it to the gym. Succeed this year by remember why you didn’t succeed last year.

Take Small Steps:  As I mentioned earlier resolutions have a black and white, all or nothing quality. After all, it is the extension of the word resolute. You are either resolving to do something or nothing. And for some reason we have come to believe that whatever we resolve to do it has to be big or else it doesn’t count. The problem with this mentality is twofold: it sets us up for failure at the first sign of challenge and it ignores the small steps that are just as important in accomplishing the big step. If your goal is to start exercising then start with 1-2 days a week and then build up from there.

Dream Big: Although lasting success starts with small and manageable steps, nothing says that you have to think small. New Year’s Realutions are all about making a better world, a better life, a better you, so dream big and go for the gold. Craft a sound strategy to achieve something bug that will make yourself proud. You are not doing this to compete with anyone, nor, are you trying to gain the approval of anyone else. Realutions are for you. Get help when you need it, take it slow and don’t get frustrated in you have to renew your realution in March. That is perfectly fine and normal. After all you have all year to make it happen.