How to Make a New Years
Resolution Stick
By: Dr. Donald E. Wetmore
At the beginning of each year so many of us commit to changes and
worthy goals to be accomplished in the next twelve months only to be
disappointed come next December 31 when we discover we are no closer
to achieving those resolutions than we were on January 1.
The noble resolutions we made early-on became unstuck. So I looked at
this dilemma and created four useful suggestions to increase the
probability that your New Year's resolutions will stick this year.
1. Quantify it. Sometimes we are just too vague about what we want.
Therefore, a resolution such as, "I want to lose weight this
year" will probably fail. It is too vague. How much weight?
Be specific. What would your ideal weight be, less what do you weigh
now, is what you are going after. It is not enough to resolve that;
"I want enough money in the bank this year".
Quantify. What specific amount would soothe your soul?
2. Set a deadline. Resolutions that are to be achieved "as soon
as possible" wind up in the heap of "Someday I'll".
Deadlines are commitments. Without a deadline as a self-imposed
pressure point, getting started is easily postponed. You see,
deadlines put us on the line and define when failure occurs. Deadlines
also help us
to break the resolution down into little bite-sized pieces. For
example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 30, that translates
into approximately 4 pounds per month, one pound per week, or a daily
reduction of caloric intake (or an increase in daily caloric burn) of
just 500 calories per day. Now that's manageable. 500 calories a day
is easy to achieve. 25 pounds seems like a leap across the Grand
Canyon. Until we quantify our
goal, set a deadline, then break it down to its daily
requirements, the resolution will forever seem unattainable.
3. Change one or two things at a time. We generally do not like change
in the first place. We seek the familiar and avoid the strange. The
more change you put yourself through, the higher the probability your
campaign will collapse. Focus in on one or two of the more important
resolutions you seek to accomplish this
year. When you achieve one or the other, start on the next one. Don't
overwhelm yourself with too much change all at once.
4. Be realistic. There's just something about the start of a new year
that gets us all wound up for changes in our lives, sometimes
extraordinary and unrealistic changes. We become much like the child
in the candy store whose eyes are bigger than his stomach. Be
realistic. You can only accomplish a certain amount within a period of
time. Don't saddle yourself with unrealistic
resolutions that will only spell failure later on.
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SPECIAL OFFER: If these ideas have been useful, you may want to
receive, "Control the Free Fall", which discusses why we
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Dr. Donald E. Wetmore-Professional Speaker
Productivity Institute Time Management Seminars
60 Huntington St. P.O. Box 2126
Shelton, CT 06484
(800) 969-3773
(203) 929-9902
Fax: (203) 929-8151
mailto:ctsem@msn.com
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Professional Member-National Speakers Association
Copyright 1999 You may re-print the above information in its entirety
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please email your request for "reprint" to: ctsem@msn.com
