Yes, we are talking resolutions again

RESOLUTIONS. If there is one thing we love to hate, it is New Year’s resolutions. Many swear against them and yet an equal number simply cannot do without them. If you are in the latter camp, here are some tips on how to get those resolutions off paper and into life.

A new year is always welcomed with a long string of resolutions, like it or not. What is frustrating however, is that very few individuals ever record success in as far as bringing their New-Year resolutions to life is concerned. In fact, if online statistics are anything to go by less than 10 per cent of resolutions set at the beginning of each year turn out successful.

The good news is that with plenty of motivation and positive reinforcement, you can cross from the land of “failed resolutions” to one where resolutions evolve into reality.

There are just a few things you need to do in order to stand a chance of finding yourself smiling next New Year’s eve with all your goals achieved.

According to Amy Ahlers, an internationally certified life coach and counsellor with Wake-Up Call, the first thing you will need to do is to write your resolutions down. This seems obvious right? Well, it is important as it enables you to do a goal check-in which helps to ensure that for every goal you write down, you are the primary reason for setting it and will thereby do all you can to achieve it.

It is believed that people tend to think and internalise things better when writing. So this practice will further more help you to set forth goals that are placed perfectly in line with your life’s purpose, goals you feel a sense of fulfillment with.

Ahlers also points out commitment as an important recipe for resolutions’ success. Find something that puts you in a state of being dedicated to your resolutions. Perhaps you could pin them up on the wall in your bedroom or in your car such that you do not go a day without taking a glance at them and knowing that it is you to ensure their success.

Better still, Ahlers advises, one should consider forming a support group with friends and family who share a common interest of bringing their New Year’s resolutions to life. The entire group should then come up with something like regular meetings where each member is asked to give a clear account and evaluation of how much progress they have made with their resolutions. Knowing that there are people you ought to give accountability to pushes you to go rather harder at it which expands your chances of success.

It is also necessary for you to make a well thought out plan of how a particular goal is going to be achieved. As a wise man once put it, the end justifies the means. So it would be good to work backwards. First, lay out the resolution, then come up with a step-by-step plan of how you will get it in the bag. If it is weight you intend to cut for example, get to know your current weight. Point out then what your targeted weight is after making thorough research and consultation on whether or not that kind of weight loss is medically healthy for a person your height and age. Thereafter, you are in position to tell the work-out rate and diet you need to adopt.

Ariana Cherry Shearer, a counsellor with eHow.com, says it is equally of essence to be realistic in setting your New Year’s goal. Do not point your guns at something that is clearly out of your can-be-hit target. Zero down on something that is placed both economically and socially in your reach. Those are the goals that pay off.

“Also believe in yourself and have self-motivation,” Shearer says. You must have that small voice somewhere within you that keeps saying “go right ahead, it is not lost yet, you can still do it.” Take caution though; there isn’t any written guarantee that all goals must turn out a success. Some goals just cannot be achieved in one year’s time-frame yet they are important to us and shall surely make it to our next year’s resolutions list. Such goals if as expected don’t flip up a success side, you need not worry or get frustrated. It can always be next year.

Make it a point as well to always give yourself a reward after any recorded success. If plan A was to complete your new house and you have with God’s mercy done exactly that, take your family on holiday if you can and make clear the reasons a surprise family-fun safari had to come up.

Remind yourself and family of how important your new-year’s resolutions are and how your commitment to them has seen plan A turn into reality and that with the same spirit you hope to see plan B come off the list as well. This will further provide you with the right measure of self-evaluation, of knowing what has been achieved on your part, what remains to be done and what it will take for it to get done.

editorial@ug.nationmedia.com