How to Make New Year Resolutions That Work

By: Gary Ryan Blair
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:40:21
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The most important investments require time. Setting and achieving a resolution requires focus, effort, and commitment. Changing old habits and developing new ones won't happen overnight. The following four guidelines are meant to help you achieve all of your New Years Resolutions:

1. Focus on one resolution at a time: Divide and conquer the activities to achieve your desired results. Break larger tasks into smaller ones – each of these make up your Personal Resolution Road map, a path to achieve your goal.

2. Create a sense of accountability: Designate a friend, mentor, or companion for sharing successes, monitoring progress, and offering support. The benefit of involving others in your goals and plans is instant access to experience, knowledge, and wisdom—it also raises the bar of responsibility.

Research indicates that one of the qualities of those who are successful at making changes is that they have excellent support systems. Many of those who make resolutions never tell others about them. Consciously or subconsciously, that way if they fail no one will view them as a failure.

Communicating your resolution and intentions actually increases your accountability to the behavior. From the very beginning it is important to share your objectives and goals with those around you so that you can enlist their support. Knowing that you are accountable to someone other than yourself will help to keep you on track.

3. Persist until completed: A resolution achieved is a stunning example of consistency and hard work. If you fall behind schedule or are sidetracked for any reason, refocus! Just don't give up! Don't surrender to temptation, difficulty or temporary failure. Persist until you achieve the goal.

4. Cultivate personal integrity: Integrity gives you the oxygen needed to cross the finish line of accomplishment. Your commitment determines your level of success. This commitment boils down to two essential tactics: daily action and review.

Resolution Beginnings

The nuts and bolts of achieving any resolution are invariably the same. Neither the size of the resolutions nor the person achieving it matters. Successful New Year's Resolutions consist of the following:

Clear Purpose – For a dream to become a goal, it must be specific. Being thin is an image, losing 10 pounds by March 1 is a true resolution. Be clear on what you want to achieve.

Make a New Years Resolution that you have a real, bona fide intention of keeping. The truth is most people have not made a genuine, serious, no-kidding around- I-really-mean-to-do-this New Years Resolution!

In Writing – Describe precisely what you want, how you will earn it, when you will have it, and the benefits you'll receive from achieving your resolution. Write the details, but don't make it complex. When you put it in writing, you increase your chances of moving to the next step and increasing your level of commitment.

Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Writing your resolution goes a long way towards achieving it.

Commitment – Without commitment, you can say, “Farewell dream. Adios potential. Toodleloo success. Hello Mediocrity!” Your resolution will find a more deserving soul: someone with courage, character, conviction... commitment.

Commitment is not only habitual but also essential — it moves you ever closer to your resolution and ultimate success. Commitment is the heartbeat of your goal.

Accountability Counts – commitment means you own it. You are responsible for taking the resolution that's on paper and turning it into a desired outcome. Owning it means tasking responsibility for changes, risks, failures, and successes.

Creating Your Resolution List

Write down your list of New Year's Resolutions. Get them all out of your head and down on paper.

1.__________________________________________________

2.__________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________

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8.__________________________________________________

9.__________________________________________________

10.__________________________________________________

Focus, Focus, Focus!

Does one resolution stand out? One that you are ready to go after. Focus on this one; you can replicate the process later.

My #1 Resolution is:

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Resolution Validation

Next, validate your chosen resolution's importance. For each question below, ask yourself if you're getting a green - go, yellow – caution, or red - stop signal.

If a caution or stop signal pops into your head, stop to ask why. It might mean that this resolution isn't the right one to be focusing on. The validation test will keep you motivated as you continue on your resolution road trip.

If the validation questions show you that this is the wrong resolution for now, start over. Return to your original list, and work through the process once again. It is wiser to focus on the right resolution than to start one you're not committed to.

Write down what comes to mind as you read through each question. These notes will serve as a motivational tool for you when you are in the middle of your resolution plan.

Is This Resolution Part of My Personal Mission?

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Does this resolution align with my mission? How?

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How does this resolution align with my values?

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How will this resolution bring me closer to living my mission?

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Is This Resolution Really Me?

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Is this resolution authentic?

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Can I envision myself accomplishing this goal?

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Is it a habit that I can incorporate into my life?

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Am I The Owner of This Resolution?

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Is this MY goal?

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How can I take complete ownership of this resolution?

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Is This Resolution In My Control?

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Is this a resolution I can actually achieve?

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Is it within my control or someone else's?

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What do I control about this resolution?

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What do I not control?

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How Will This Resolution Stretch Me?

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Is this a resolution that will make me grow?

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How will it help me learn new things?

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By investing your efforts in these guidelines that lead to successful resolutions, you give yourself a launch pad for starting your new year and your new life.

I wish for you a New Year of health, wealth, and happiness. I encourage you to pursue your resolutions with open arms and to believe deeply in your ability to enjoy the rewards of resolutions and dreams achieved.

Have you heard about New Year's Resolution Week? To learn more, visit http://goalsguy.com/Events/n_overview.html

Gary Ryan Blair is known throughout the world as The Goals Guy – http://www.GoalsGuy.com. He helps business owners, corporate executives and sales professionals manage their time, set their priorities, and stay focused so they can achieve their goals, grow their business, and be more successful. To learn how to create a winning strategy for your life, visit: http://www.PersonalStrategicPlan.com

Gary can be reached for speaking, coaching and media requests at 877-462-5748 or by sending an email to Gary@GoalsGuy.com

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