Everybody makes them, but what happens next? Well that depends on you and the level of commitment you attach to keeping promises to yourself. We’ve come up with four different results for the resolutions you made at New Years. Which one sounds like you?
If you are still steadfastly sticking to all of your New Year’s Resolutions.....Very commendable! You’ve stuck to your New Year’s resolutions for nearly 2 months! Keep up the good work and you have a real chance of attaining whatever goal it was that prompted you to make the resolution in the first place. Only one question... how do you know that this is what you really want?
When I was a kid, I remember lusting after a particular game. All the kids in my class were talking about it and I just had to have it. I saved my pocket money, I did extra chores just so that I could buy this game. I was so excited when I finally had enough money. The day after I bought it, I had completely lost interest in it. It was boring, it was too easy, it didn’t challenge me. So what if it was the “must-have” game of the moment, it just wasn’t for me. Goals are like that.
So how do you know if your New Year resolutions that you’ve worked so hard to attain are really worth attaining? How do you know if they’re right for you? Understanding how goal setting really works would be your first step. There’s more to setting goals than just making a wish list and hoping for the best. If you’re serious enough about your New Year’s resolutions to stick to them for this long, perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure they’re what you really want. Why put in all the effort only to find out that what you’re aiming for is not a good fit for you?
If you are still trying to be “good” and are keeping one or two resolutions....Good for you! You’ve shown that you can keep promises to yourself if you put your mind to it. Of course, you have to really want to, don’t you? What about all those other things you could be going after that aren’t quite so achievable? You know the ones.... you’ve been putting them in the too hard basket for years. All those things you’ll get round to one of these days.
Being able to make and keep promises to yourself is an excellent first step in making and achieving goals. Maybe it’s time to stop thinking about all those things you’ll get around to one day and sit down and decide, once and for all, if those are things you really should be going after. Doing this within the framework of a goal setting exercise will clarify your dreams and goals, solidify those that are real to you and put you on a path to attaining them. The ones that are really just pipe dreams don’t need to occupy brain space any more, leaving room for the stuff that really matters to you.
If you are still clinging vainly to the shreds of your one remaining resolution......Kudos to you for giving it a go! You managed to set some resolutions and have even managed to stick to one even if your heart is not exactly in it. Better luck next year!
But why wait until next New Year before you make some new resolutions? You know that there are things you really want now, so how about going out and getting them? Of course, if you use the same tactics to achieve your ambitions as you do for achieving your New Year’s resolutions, you’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you, don’t you?
The best predictor of future performance is past performance and when it comes to setting goals, which is really what a New Year’s resolution is, you haven’t done too well. So how do you go about setting goals and actually achieving them? Maybe if you knew how to set goals properly, you’d give yourself a better chance of actually getting what you want.
This doesn’t have to be a tedious process, but it will help you if you get serious about it, after all, you could just coast along, taking things as they come and end up who knows where, or you could take charge of your life and head it in the direction that’s just right for you.
If you gave up the minute the sun hit your eyes on January 1st ......Let’s face it, this “New Year’s Resolution” stuff is just not for you. You set the target (or pretend to), give a go (or pretend to), then get down on yourself when you fall short. You have good intentions but they don’t quite pay off. I know exactly how you feel because I used to do the same thing.
Every year I resolved to quit smoking. Not because I wanted to, I really didn’t. I loved smoking, it relaxed me. I wasn’t myself until I’d lit up my first smoke of the day, usually before my feet hit the floor every morning. I resolved to quit because my mother wanted me to, my boyfriend hated the smell of smoke, my sister nagged me and my Dad died at a young age, probably from smoking. So every year, it was the same story, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, I’d determine that I’d quit smoking and five minutes later, after all the kissing was over with, I’d have forgotten my resolution. OK, I’ll admit a little alcohol may have played a small part in my short term memory loss, but the fact remained that I was off the hook. As soon as I lit up the next cigarette, I could forget the resolution. I’d already blown it. Safe for another year! I’d always feel guilty for not measuring up though.
I was destined to fail because I didn’t really want to succeed. I couldn’t see what was in it for me. I looked upon quitting smoking as deprivation. It wasn’t until I got serious about setting goals that I realised why I really wanted to quit. As soon as I did realise it, quitting was easy. It took me five minutes. That was over 15 years ago and I haven’t smoked a cigarette since. The difference was in the motivation. In setting proper goals, I understood my short and long term objectives. I knew why I wanted certain things, why I needed other things and how they all fit together to make my life whole. Giving up smoking was a small (and immensely satisfying) part of that process.
How do you think you would feel if you set some real goals, ones that were tailor–made for you and you actually achieved them? It’s easy when you know how.
If you are still steadfastly sticking to all of your New Year’s Resolutions.....Very commendable! You’ve stuck to your New Year’s resolutions for nearly 2 months! Keep up the good work and you have a real chance of attaining whatever goal it was that prompted you to make the resolution in the first place. Only one question... how do you know that this is what you really want?
When I was a kid, I remember lusting after a particular game. All the kids in my class were talking about it and I just had to have it. I saved my pocket money, I did extra chores just so that I could buy this game. I was so excited when I finally had enough money. The day after I bought it, I had completely lost interest in it. It was boring, it was too easy, it didn’t challenge me. So what if it was the “must-have” game of the moment, it just wasn’t for me. Goals are like that.
So how do you know if your New Year resolutions that you’ve worked so hard to attain are really worth attaining? How do you know if they’re right for you? Understanding how goal setting really works would be your first step. There’s more to setting goals than just making a wish list and hoping for the best. If you’re serious enough about your New Year’s resolutions to stick to them for this long, perhaps it would be a good idea to make sure they’re what you really want. Why put in all the effort only to find out that what you’re aiming for is not a good fit for you?
If you are still trying to be “good” and are keeping one or two resolutions....Good for you! You’ve shown that you can keep promises to yourself if you put your mind to it. Of course, you have to really want to, don’t you? What about all those other things you could be going after that aren’t quite so achievable? You know the ones.... you’ve been putting them in the too hard basket for years. All those things you’ll get round to one of these days.
Being able to make and keep promises to yourself is an excellent first step in making and achieving goals. Maybe it’s time to stop thinking about all those things you’ll get around to one day and sit down and decide, once and for all, if those are things you really should be going after. Doing this within the framework of a goal setting exercise will clarify your dreams and goals, solidify those that are real to you and put you on a path to attaining them. The ones that are really just pipe dreams don’t need to occupy brain space any more, leaving room for the stuff that really matters to you.
If you are still clinging vainly to the shreds of your one remaining resolution......Kudos to you for giving it a go! You managed to set some resolutions and have even managed to stick to one even if your heart is not exactly in it. Better luck next year!
But why wait until next New Year before you make some new resolutions? You know that there are things you really want now, so how about going out and getting them? Of course, if you use the same tactics to achieve your ambitions as you do for achieving your New Year’s resolutions, you’ve got an uphill battle ahead of you, don’t you?
The best predictor of future performance is past performance and when it comes to setting goals, which is really what a New Year’s resolution is, you haven’t done too well. So how do you go about setting goals and actually achieving them? Maybe if you knew how to set goals properly, you’d give yourself a better chance of actually getting what you want.
This doesn’t have to be a tedious process, but it will help you if you get serious about it, after all, you could just coast along, taking things as they come and end up who knows where, or you could take charge of your life and head it in the direction that’s just right for you.
If you gave up the minute the sun hit your eyes on January 1st ......Let’s face it, this “New Year’s Resolution” stuff is just not for you. You set the target (or pretend to), give a go (or pretend to), then get down on yourself when you fall short. You have good intentions but they don’t quite pay off. I know exactly how you feel because I used to do the same thing.
Every year I resolved to quit smoking. Not because I wanted to, I really didn’t. I loved smoking, it relaxed me. I wasn’t myself until I’d lit up my first smoke of the day, usually before my feet hit the floor every morning. I resolved to quit because my mother wanted me to, my boyfriend hated the smell of smoke, my sister nagged me and my Dad died at a young age, probably from smoking. So every year, it was the same story, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, I’d determine that I’d quit smoking and five minutes later, after all the kissing was over with, I’d have forgotten my resolution. OK, I’ll admit a little alcohol may have played a small part in my short term memory loss, but the fact remained that I was off the hook. As soon as I lit up the next cigarette, I could forget the resolution. I’d already blown it. Safe for another year! I’d always feel guilty for not measuring up though.
I was destined to fail because I didn’t really want to succeed. I couldn’t see what was in it for me. I looked upon quitting smoking as deprivation. It wasn’t until I got serious about setting goals that I realised why I really wanted to quit. As soon as I did realise it, quitting was easy. It took me five minutes. That was over 15 years ago and I haven’t smoked a cigarette since. The difference was in the motivation. In setting proper goals, I understood my short and long term objectives. I knew why I wanted certain things, why I needed other things and how they all fit together to make my life whole. Giving up smoking was a small (and immensely satisfying) part of that process.
How do you think you would feel if you set some real goals, ones that were tailor–made for you and you actually achieved them? It’s easy when you know how.
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