Resolute
Howdy Partner, A new year is about to happen, and when a year is new everyone feels like they are too. In celebration of that newness a lot of folks make resolutions. The top 5 resolutions are: 1) To lose weight, 2) Getting organized, 3) Spend less, save more, 4) Enjoy life to the fullest, and 5) Staying fit and healthy. (If you want to read 6-10 follow the link at the end of this blog) My biggest concern is that staying fit and healthy is number 5… though spending more time with family is number 10, which I am sure has to do with the fact that resolutions come a week after Christmas and other winter holidays that push family time as the thing to do.
My second biggest concern is that while 45% of the US population makes New Year's Resolutions only 8% are successful while 24% of peeps who make resolutions never succeed and fail on their resolutions each year. Then you have age as a factor with younger folks being more successful than older (over 50) folks. Maybe as we age we have had too many failures around resolutions/goals so it is easier to get discouraged and give up than when we are young and still have a few shreds of hope. :) It seems that resolutions aren't really effective when you look at all of these stats. Is there a point then? Shall we just stop and let it all go?
Well, not so fast. Resolution, or goal setting has success. It is a fact that someone without goals never reaches their goals 100% of the time. So setting a goal gives you a chance to reach them. Direction leads you somewhere, at least, and usually leads you in the direction you desire. So, giving up on goal setting may not be he way to avoid failing, instead changing the goals we set or how we set them could be the answer.
Inspiration is a beautiful thing. Inspiration is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something (Webster's Dictionary). If we feel inspired we are more likely to act. Your goals need to be inspired and inspirational… and the steps you take to reach them need to be inspired and inspirational as well. So instead of losing weight this year, what is your inspiration? Is it to wear certain brands, run a number of miles, do jumping jacks for a number of minutes, get your blood pressure down to a certain number, or feel good? Maybe your inspiration is something else. When your goals have meaning, a meaning you have thought out and delineated you may have a better chance of actually sticking to the steps necessary to reach them. You may also do well to be honest, at least with yourself, about why you really want to reach a certain goal. Know this: whatever reason you have for setting a goal is valid. Period.
When you put your heart into what you want to change, why you want to change it and what you will do to make it so… or rather, when you commit to a goal you no longer view it as something you can get out of. You are in it. You are dedicated. You set up your world so that your goal is priority. Maybe you have friends that encourage and hold you accountable, maybe you hire someone to help you reach your goals, maybe you stop making excuses. However it is done, it is doable when you commit to it.
Good luck figuring out the direction you want your life to take in 2013. It is yours to create, this future you dream of. It starts with you, your vision, your motivation, your inspiration.
xo
a
http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/