Ten Tips For Setting (and Keeping) Life Changing ResolutionsWritten by Toni Coleman, LCSW
Ten Tips For Setting (And Keeping) Life Changing ResolutionsIt’s time for that annual ritual of making (and breaking) our New Year’s resolutions. There is something about idea of being able to start over that motivates us to pause (at least briefly) and reflect on our lives as they are, as well as how we would like them to be. Yet how many times have you thought back to last year’s goals and found that many or most of them were abandoned or just forgotten after a few months into year? Many of us have difficulty following through on our resolutions due to factors such as choosing unrealistic goals, not making them challenging enough and/or lacking necessary motivation to stick with them. The following tips should help put you on right course and assist you in staying committed to your most important goals for 2003. 1. Start with a life vision If you don’t know what you want your future to look like, how can you decide what areas of your life need to be worked on? Spend some quiet time TODAY reflecting on (and writing down) what is good, bad or incomplete. Then try to “see” your life if all of these areas were addressed and had become satisfactory to you. 2. Get organized Clear away clutter. Go through paperwork, files, old bills and receipts, closets, drawers and storage containers. Decide what you need and will use and either throw out or give away all rest. Put aside some time each week for this purpose. Focus on one area (or box) at a time until you are finished. Having available file drawer space, trash bags, file folders and pens handy will speed things along. Try not to handle any thing more than once. Make a decision and act on it immediately. After you have cleaned out you can think about your existing systems for management and storage and see if these need reworking or just some fine-tuning. Make sure you use ONE calendar to record everything. Otherwise you will either overbook, miss appointments and events or just waste a lot of time trying to constantly go back, re-do and sort out your schedule. 3.Expand your horizons and make a commitment to learning something new. Challenging yourself will infuse you with greater energy and sense of purpose. It will help build your self-esteem to realize you are capable of more than you had previously believed. This new learning can also give you additional resources to assist you in your career, personal or love life. 4. Set challenging but realistic resolutions Choose goals that stretch your ability muscles, yet are realistic and therefore less vulnerable to failure. Don’t respond to that negative inner voice that says; “oh, I’m not capable of that”. Instead, focus on what you truly desire for your life and relationships and let this be your guide.
| | Easy ResolutionsWritten by Rinatta Paries
New Year's Eve is traditional time to make resolutions for upcoming year. Most resolutions are about something we really, really want. Even if you are not type who makes New Year's resolutions, notice that somewhere, quietly, in back of your mind, you are probably making one anyway.The problem with resolutions, though, is that most people never keep theirs. And it's no surprise why. Most of us resolve for big things -- lose weight, get into a relationship, improve a relationship, get a better job, improve business, get healthy, save money, etc. These are not easy things, and cannot be accomplished simply because we resolve to accomplish them. It's not that big things can't be accomplished. It's just that it takes something, and often lots of something, to move us in direction of accomplishing something big. This New Year's Eve, try something different. I'm not guaranteeing this will work for everyone, but it may be an interesting and useful experiment. It has to be easier than resolving to do some huge thing you will probably give up a few days or weeks after start of year. Instead of resolving to achieve, become, or get something, resolve to add a positive state of being to your life. For example, resolve to add state of joy for year 2003. Or resolve to add state of laughter for 2003. Or, resolve to add state of pleasure, or creativity, or aliveness, or surrender, or compassion, or love. This way your focus will not be on striving for a goal. It will be on asking yourself what needs to be adjusted, or shifted, in order to create state you've resolved to add. You may find this much easier than other resolutions you have made. It is easier to answer question, "What will help me feel happy or creative right now?" instead of answering question, "What will help me lose weight right now?" The first question definitely has an answer with fairly easy, immediate actions that you are likely to be willing to take. The second question also has an answer with fairly easy steps, but you are not as likely to be willing to take them.
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