Every year, people around the world promise themselves, next year will be different. They make commitments to improve their lives, end bad habits, and generally be better people. From losing weight to quitting smoking to spending more time with their families, people resolve to make big changes at the end of each year, but more often than not find themselves slipping back into their old patterns come mid January.
This year, if you have some big changes you'd like to make in your life, get serious about making and keeping your New Year's resolutions. First things first, you have to identify what resolutions you want to make, and why. Do you want to save more money? Or spend more time with your kids? Or stop getting so stressed out about your job? Maybe you want to be a better listener overall, or perhaps to be less cynical, or maybe to be less of a pushover. Regardless of what your goal(s) may be, identifying them is the first step to successful resolution making.
Once you've identified your goal(s), make an itemized list, and include an explanation as to why you want to end, begin, or modify these behaviors. Do they get in the way of your day? Are they causing your health to deteriorate? Or maybe they just make you feel bad? Identify what the core problem is and explain it as clearly as possible, so when you're working on actually implementing the changes in your life, you'll have something to look back on and use as encouragement reminding you why you made the resolution in the first place.
Once you've got your list of resolutions all worked out, make a plan to implement them in your life. If one of your goals is to exercise more, join a gym, or schedule an hour before or after work for yourself to get a fitness regimen into your routine. If you're resolutions include quitting smoking, buy nicotine patches, gum, or other tools to make it easier on yourself. In short, you want to equip yourself with whatever you'll need to achieve your goals and stick to your resolutions.
Finally, devise a reward and/or punishment system to help you stay on track. Most anything will work (but be careful not to choose a reward that will impede your efforts, like, "Every day I work out, I can have a milkshake" rewards like that are counterproductive at best), so think of treats you enjoy, like a weekly lunch out with friends, or a night out, and use it to reward yourself for sticking to and accomplishing your goals. Set a reward schedule to keep track and determine whether or not you've earned your reward. Continuing with the example of exercising more as a resolution, let's say you set a goal of working out four times a week. Keep track on a calendar, and if you stick to the schedule for two weeks straight, reward yourself. This system can be modified to fit almost any resolution(s) you set of course, you have to be honest, or the system won't work.
Regardless of what you resolve to change, improve, or modify about your life, this year, commit to actually making it happen.
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