DON’T Make Any New Years Resolutions!
Yes! You did read that correctly, and no, I haven’t lost my marbles.
I think most of us agree that resolutions don’t work, or at least their failure rate is extremely high; how often have we resolved to earn more money next year, or lose some weight? And how many times have we fallen at the first hurdle, sometimes within 24 hours?
The reason for this is simple, resolutions don’t stimulate our brains to action in the ways that properly set GOALS do. A resolution is simply something we would like to achieve without a pre-planned idea of the work we need to put in to get there, whereas a properly set goal is set with the acronym “SMART” in mind. SMART simply means “Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Relatable and Timed”. Without all of these pieces the jigsaw that becomes our mind-map is incomplete. So we can see that, for instance, wanting to simply lose some weight or earn some extra cash does not create a SMART goal because there is no information for our mind to work on with regard to how much we want to earn or lose, or how quickly. However if we were to say that we wanted to earn an extra £2000.00 (or $, or which ever currency you wish) by 15th June 2011, then the goal becomes easier to take action towards in our mind because it is specific, measured and timed. There may still be a stumbling block in your mind because you may not consider that amount achieveable or you cannot relate to it; you then have two choices, you can alter the amount and/or time scale to one you completely believe is truly achieveable and relatable, or you can step out of your comfort zone and generate the self belief which will power you through to busting that goal wide open!
One other little secret is to always make your goals positive, for example if you wish to lose weight it is wrong to focus on the loss part. because loss is associated in your mind with negativity. It is far better to focus on setting a specific target weight and “reaching it”, because reaching is associated in your mind with positivity.
It’s also OK to set huge goals, even ones that may seem improbable provided that you set smaller sub goals, which you can reach in a shorter term possibly bringing the time scale down from months or years ahead to weeks or even days. Checking off these smaller achievements day by day and week by week will build you an unshakeable self confidence and propel you towards further victories.
So ….. goals ……. Happy New Year everyone, hit me up in the comments section below and share with us the goals that you have for the forthcoming year. Lets go work on them together!
Related Posts
