New Year's Resolutions and Other Broken Promises: 3 Ways to Ensure the Change You Want to See in
This time next week, Planet Fitness, VIDA, Gold’s, Bally’s, and other gyms across the nation will see an influx of new and long lost members determined to shed those unwanted pounds and build abs of steel. By this time in two months (and I am being generous), for many, that whole “new year, new me” mentality will be sitting at the end of a rainbow with a leprechaun, pot of gold, and other things that don’t exist.
If you are really determined to achieve goals, and not just set them, here are three tips that are sure to help you get 2017 started on the right foot:
1. Listen to the Timeless Words of R. Kelly and Watty Piper.
R&B sensation R. Kelly famously crooned “If I can see it, then I can be it. If I just believe it, there's nothing to it” in his 1996 hit, I Believe I Can Fly. Watty Piper, also known as Arnold Munk, may be less familiar. His illustrated children’s book, The Little Engine That Could became widely known in the United States as a motiRAYtional story using the slogan “I think I can.” to teach children the value of optimism and hard work.
According to Stanford University psychology professor Albert Bandura, a person’s drive is often based on what they believe about their abilities, not on how objectively talented they are. His work has shown that people who have perceived self-efficacy perform better than those who don’t. Find me a successful person—Oprah, Beyoncé, Cher, Drake, Iced-T, or any other one-named wonder, and I will show you accomplished individuals who believed in themselves and what they had the potential to accomplish—even when others around them said that they were in way over their heads.
When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubt. Everything we have in life comes because of our power to believe that they are possible.
2. Practice Visualization: Focus on Foresight, Insight, and Oversight.
Visualization, the ability to recall or form mental images or pictures, is a powerful concept. When you are visualizing, you are emitting a powerful frequency into the universe. A vision board is a simple yet powerful tool that manifests your dreams into reality by activating the Law of Attraction. As you prepare your vision board, think about sight—foresight, insight, and oversight. Foresight is your portal to what you see and want for your life ahead. Insight shows you the current makeup of all the tools and resources you both have and need to get you where you want to be. And oversight shows you how all the pieces fit together and operate to get you to an expected end. Remember, vision, without action, is merely a dream.
3. Remember the 3 R’s: Realistic, Rewards, Revision
Nearly 25% of all New Year’s resolutions are broken within the first week. A sure fire way to fall short of your goals is to handicap yourself by making your goals unfeasible. You know you like cheesecake. When you go into the Cheesecake Factory, the host greets you by name. Why on earth would you make a resolution to stop eating cheesecake? Instead, choose something more attainable, like only going to the Cheesecake Factory once a month instead of three times. Small steps. You have to walk before you can run. Setting small, incremental goals keep you committed to the overall plan, provide a framework for gradual change, and help you actually meet your goal.
As you accomplish these small goals, it is completely fine to reward yourself. Too often we sink into negativity, beating ourselves over the head because we can’t meet the huge lifestyle goals we set for ourselves. Setting smaller goals and visualizing success helps us check off of our to-do lists. Celebrate your victory in whatever way makes you happy as long as it does not tempt you to revert to your old habits. Remember to take note of specific things you did to reach that milestone and try to incorporate those things into other areas of your life.
If at any point along the way, you find that attaining a goal is too much, feel free to revise the plan. Periodically we have to stop and ask ourselves--Is this really what I want? Is accomplishing this causing more harm than good? Am I happy with the outcomes? If not, you’ll need to go back to the drawing board. Making revisions to the plan does not make you a failure. It makes you strategic. Setting goals is like writing—just because you have words on a page that tell a story, they may not be the best words to articulate and capture the story you have to tell. Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. Do what works for you because at the end of the day it is you who must be happy.
If you have made a New Year’s resolution that didn’t quite make it all the way into the new year, try incorporating some of these hacks into your game plan. You’d be surprised at just how much a new perspective can influence and motiRAYte you to own your power and be the best you that you can possibly be.
