THIS YEAR I'M GOING TO.....

…make a New Year resolution and keep it!

"When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge."
– Tuli Kupferberg

Most people don't have a clue how to make a reasonable resolution,
which is why most people fail to keep them. We set high goals for
ourselves, and then wonder why we never attain them. So we either
stop setting goals (never a good choice), or make resolutions that
are ridiculously easy to keep.

Achieving Success

Are you determined that this year you'll keep those New Year's
Resolutions?

Here are a few goal setting tips to get you started!

Don't Try Everything at Once!
There's a temptation, with the New Year, to run off a list of
everything we've ever wanted to change. Don't fall for it! You'll have
better luck fulfilling one or two goals than you will a list of fifty. You
can always add new resolutions to your list later. Take one thing at
a time.

Word it Carefully.
Let's say your resolution is to relax more in the coming year. Word
this carefully.
Try not to think of it as "This year I am going to relax." That's a
stress-inducer waiting to happen. It forces you into thinking of the
resolution as something you must do, not something you want to do.
Try to make it sound a little gentler:
"This year I'm going to explore different ways of relaxing."
It also suggests more of a plan - you'll fulfil the resolution by
experimenting with relaxation techniques. The first resolution sounds
as if you're going to force yourself to relax by sheer willpower.

Make a Plan.
Once you know what your resolution is, try to break it down.
Nobody accomplishes anything of significance by trying to do it all at
once. This doesn't have to be a complicated plan; just brainstorm
enough to give you a place to start. For relaxing, you might devise a
plan like this:
1) Surf the Internet to find different relaxation techniques.
2) Make a list of all the techniques that interest you.
3) Pick one of these techniques—meditation, progressive relaxation or self-hypnosis, for instance - and try one for a month.
4) Try a different technique every month until you find one you like.

Write it Down.
Write down your resolution and your plan of action. Stick it up on
the fridge, on your bathroom mirror, wherever you know you'll see it.
That way you'll have a constant reminder of the resolution. You may
want to change the wording as time passes and your goal changes.