photo by Carla D
Okay, so you now have had AMPLE time to come up with some incredible resolutions. I hope you dreamed your very biggest. Now you are set to take on the next challenge: actually keeping them. Here are some nice little tips to help you stay motivated:
Keep Your Resolutions in Sight. You cannot keep a goal that you don't remember making. Out of sight, out of mind. The way to remedy this problem is to write your goals down in a place where you will see them daily. This could be a list on the back of your front door. It could be written in lipstick on your bathroom mirror. It could be embroidered on your pillowcase so you see it FIRST THING when you wake up. Be creative, but be visible!!!
Break it Down into SmallER Pieces. I told you to break your big goals into small pieces- excellent! Now, you may need to go even smaller. Say,for example, your goal is to sing every day.This may seem obnoxious after awhile, when television starts looking better and better, or when your throat is really sore. So, break it down: I will sing ONE song every day. This is not a difficult task, one song could take less than a minute. The trick is that starting is often the hardest part, so be easy on yourself, tell yourself you can quit after one song, and more often than not you will continue singing much longer. However, if you don't want to continue singing, you don't have to. Small progress is better than no progress.
Be Specific. So, you are going to work out every day. Where are you going to work out? How long are you going to do it? What time will you go? What exercises will you do? Will you do it with anyone else? Will you do the same work out every day? If you don't answer these questions now, it will be easier to not do it later. You might even need to get more specific than that, such as what clothes will I wear? How often will I wash them? What time will I wash them? Believe me, it is easy to self-sabotage, so don't give yourself any chances.
Give Yourself Rewards. While often the reward of conquering your desired goal is enough, often it isn't. Sometimes the rewards take awhile to show up, and this can become very discouraging (case in point: looking for a new job. The new job will feel great once you get it, but it might take hundreds of applications and dozens of interviews to get there). So, start a reward system for yourself. Think of ways you love to indulge yourself. These can be either possessions or activities. I, for example, am hankering to get my hands on my library books (Bill Bryson!). However, it has been much too long since I last posted on this blog. So, my reward is that I will allow myself time to read once I am done with my task, but NOT before then. Believe me, I jumped on this computer fast as a kangaroo. If you give yourself small rewards along the way, the task is much easier to complete.
I hope speaking so much of logistics hasn't been discouraging. Don't let problem-solving overwhelm you: these are tips to complete the goals you REALLY want to have happen. If you start doing something and really hate it, QUIT. There is no sense in continuing self-torture. Do the things you love, or at least the things that will get you toward the things you love, and have the best freaking year of your life!
Eliza
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