How To Keep Your New Years Resolutions

Just like every year, you ate, drank and spent too much over the Holidays. Now you are overweight, bloated, tired and broke. And just like every year, you are promising yourself that you are going to change all that in the new year! 

Every year we make New Years Resolutions that we do not keep.  There are two reasons why New Year Resolutions don’t work: 

• 1st -  we try and take on way too much, 
• 2nd - we don’t believe in ourselves.  

When it comes to New Years Resolutions, “Size does matter”.  You can turn your resolutions into realities by starting small. As the saying goes, “the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time!” 

At the start of each New Year, we begin looking at our life and deciding that this is the year we are going to make real changes in our weight, romance, smoking, drinking, career, money, getting in shape, organizing, cleaning and more.  Even though we never followed through in all of the other years. As good as our intentions and desires are, our subconscious is not expecting our resolution to come true.  We have conditioned ourselves to doubt our ability to change. This core lack of belief triggers a lack of commitment to action and the result is the same year after year.  We do not pursue our goals with consistent action. 

You have said it before, “This year is the year I _______!” Sound familiar?  You have said it and you have not done it.  However, there is a way to make your goals materialize. Its called the “Resolution Success System!” 

The first step is to learn and use this Success System. Once you learn the system you can apply it over and over again with success in every area of your life. Concentrate on the system, not the goal. 

For the second step,  ”Pick one, and get it done” as a friend of mine is fond of saying. Make sure you are picking something that YOU really want to change. You can’t lose weight, stop smoking, or get an education just because someone else wants you to. If you really want something, you will do what it takes. 

The third step requires you to reduce this goal to manageable pieces. Set goals that are what you believe you can achieve in one month. Remember size does count.  Focusing your energy on one goal to be accomplished in 30 days gives us something attainable.  If you don’t believe you can do it, you won’t be able to. 

For the fourth step,  write down your goal and then brainstorm to find at least 20 different actions you can take right now to achieve it. Don’t skip this step! Our tendency is to take shortcuts. Do not! This is one of the most important steps in achieving your first New Years Resolution. 

For step five, post your written goal and the 20 ways you can achieve it on the wall in a very visible place.  If we don’t affirm our goals we will not achieve them. 

For the sixth step, study your goal and the 20 actions several times a day.  Visualize yourself as if you have already attained the results. If you can’t see it, you can’t achieve it.  Link your 5 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) to the goal. Make it come alive for you! 

For step seven, Act as if you have already achieved your goal.  Give yourself positive affirmations as if you have already achieved the goal. This is called telling the truth in advance. 

For step eight, go to the posted goal everyday as often as you can, recite it out loud, visualize the result, state the affirmation and then pick activities that you will do (from your list of 20) that day to achieve it. It is all about what you do each day.  So resolve to put the effort in.  I call this the “Law of Effort”. 

For step nine, apply the “Law of Consistency”.  Do not fall into the trap of tomorrow.  Start now.  Not tomorrow. Not January 1st. Then, commit to yourself that you will be consistent for 30 days. After all what is 30 days? 

For step ten, update your goal, and repeat all these steps every 30 days. Every 30 days, add one more goal you want to achieve along with 20 ways you can achieve it! 

Be enthusiastic, as Emerson said, “Nothing great is ever created without enthusiasm.” These are the 10 parts of success that, if used, will guarantee your success. 

Don’t let this New Year end up like all the others, follow these steps and you will learn that you can develop a success system in your life. Congratulations in advance for taking this first positive step in realizing your resolutions, and Happy New Year!