3 Steps Towards Accomplishing Your Resolutions

Have you taken the time yet to sit down and reflect upon the past year and what you would like to accomplish in the coming year? It is that time again, when many try to change old self-defeating habits, start new projects, accomplish the “undone” ones of years past, make new friends, change careers, or any of a number of things that you may want to change. Anytime of year is a great to get started, but January seems to be more suited to such pursuits. It is the beginning of another year and a good time to make a fresh start. Most of us live in areas that are colder, with the sun in the sky for a shorter period of time. We tend to stay indoors more with much more time to read, write, study, watch movies, etc. It’s a perfect time to reflect.
New Year’s Resolutions have such a bad rap. They are the things you come up with to do in the coming year that you invariably know you won’t do. What’s the use? I don’t want to bore you with a list of “to do’s,” but there are some things that are essential if you want to be successful. If you would just do these three things, you will be far more likely to change unwanted behavior for good, finish that project, or work on your character. Here are 3 steps to accomplishing your New Year’s Resolutions.
#1 Get a vision of what you want to accomplish. See yourself doing it, or being it. By asking yourself such questions as what do I want to look like? Where do I want to live? How do I want to behave in certain situations? You will be more likely to see yourself as a success in your mind’s eye. Everything that ever was or ever will be was created in someone’s mind first. So if you cannot hold the vision of what you want, you probably will not succeed. In this vision you create, see yourself in it as the participator and not as a third party. Be aware of colors, smells, textures, surroundings, and other people. It has to be real for you. Replay your vision often.
#2 Writing your goals down is the second step towards success. Often people who write their goals down don’t write accomplishable goals down. They write down ideas or wishes, but not goals. By starting with your vision, you need to state on paper what it is you want first. Recreate the vision on paper if that helps. The best place for this kind of writing is in a personal journal, or in something that you will return to throughout the year. Next, ask yourself what you need to DO in order to get there. This is the important part. You need to break down your goals into manageable realistic steps. If I want to finish reading a 1000 page book, figure out how much time you have to read each month. Divide the book up into 12 sections, and write a goal for each month. Then you can divide that down into weeks and even days. You know you need to read 84 pages a month, about 20 pages a week and around 3 pages a day. Now you know what you need to DO in order to accomplish the goal. Write that down as your short term goal. It is a doable goal, it isn’t as daunting as looking at a goal to read this huge 1000 page book. If you get behind, you know how much you need to read in order to catch up. Perhaps you want the book read in 3 months time. You still need to work backwards until you come to the daily or weekly thing you must DO. Moving ahead of the pace you’ve set is great! If you have more time, go for it!
#3 Don’t overload yourself. Another mistake we get into is trying to make too many changes at once. Make your list of goals you want to accomplish, choose 2 -3 that are high priority, and envision those. Because you wrote the others down, don’t be surprised if you actually accomplish those too. Writing down goals jumps starts the subconscious which is the real captain of our ship. We will begin doing things to accomplish those goals because our subconscious mind has been charged to do them. It’s a great thing. So don’t fret about those goals being left behind. Focus on 2-3 high priority goals and continue the process of visualization and writing until you have something concrete to DO. When you have succeeded, get out your other goals and begin the process again with them.
January is a great time to reflect, to appreciate, to resolve, to initiate change. So, take the time. Play the movies of you often. Write your own script, and become the best you can be. Live to your full potential by accomplishing your New Year’s Resolutions.