Every year millions of American’s set resolutions only to fizzle out mid-January or maybe early February for the stronger willed. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason is that many people quit after they face their first failure. This can be cheating at a new diet or getting a refusal from a potential client. For some reason we think if we don’t achieve our goals perfectly then we should just give up. That sounds so stupid when you say it like that, but how many times have you said “Since I already had a doughnut for breakfast I might as well eat the cookie for lunch” Or “Since I didn’t meet my monthly sales quota for this week I might as well just give up this month and try harder next month”
Another reason is that we rarely make our goals fun. Maybe we do set a goal to go on a vacation or take a trip somewhere. Those can be fun goals to have. Typically though we want to change something in our lives, maybe lose weight or start a business. When we make goals like this we tend to have the “No Pain No Gain” attitude. If I am not hustling every day through all hours of the night on my business, then I am not working hard enough. Sleep, who needs that? Sleep is for the weak. If I am not starving and spending hours at the gym there is no way I’ll lose weight.
The final reason I am going to discuss is that resolutions or even goals are incredibly finite or way too generic. We either set a goal to lose weight or to lose 20 lbs. I don’t know how to measure any kind of success with a goal to lose weight. Is losing a pound considered a success? What is you gain is back, are you a failure? What happens when you lose 20lbs? Do you keep going or go right back to your old habits? What if you only lose 18lbs, does that mean you are a failure? The question I want you to ask yourself is “What are my intentions behind this resolution?” Is it really about the weight or do you want to have more energy or be healthier. You can argue that these are also fairly generic, but I would challenge you to develop some sort of tracking mechanism. Being healthier could include swapping out your unhealthy food choices with something more positive or drinking more water. If you don’t track your progress, you’ll never know how many times you made the better food decision or how much water you actually drank. You can also measure things like cholesterol levels, etc. Also if you encounter setbacks, LET THEM GO. Not every day will be perfect, but life is a beautiful journey. If you aren’t satisfied with the progress you are making it’s up to you to make the changes required for your definition of success. fffffffff