The start of a new year heralds bright beginnings. For some, the very thought of these two words is enough to overwhelm with crippling anxiety. So. Much. Pressure!
With the many grand resolutions we have for the upcoming year, it’s no wonder that some people fall prey to planning in vain. In other words, we rarely, if ever, accomplish what we’ve set out to do.
Below are three magical tips that I hope will help kick your butt into gear when it comes to making your goals for 2016 work.
1. Be realistic:
As with all things in life, your resolutions should be realistic—in every sense of that word. If you realize that you really would like to save up money to buy a that awesome used car on Kijiji, it won’t help you if it’s out of your budget or if you know that it would take more than a year to save enough money to purchase it.
Often times, we’re left feeling helpless and pitiful when we strive for a goal that is completely out of our reach. If we make the attempt to be completely honest with ourselves (and yes, I mean 100 per cent honesty with our capabilities), most of our resolutions would be easier to achieve.
2. Make it a social thing:
There’s something about being held accountable for your actions that helps kick anyone into gear. And there’s something even more powerful lying in the idea of “social accountability.”
It’s much easier to accomplish a task when you’ve made a group effort to do so, and it I think we can all agree that it’s a lot more fun! A common goal that most people have during the start of a new year is to lose weight. However, one pitfall that inevitably stops the achievement of this goal is the sheer loneliness of going through the process alone, and fad/crash diets. So, for whatever goal you have, find others who have similar goals that you can keep in touch with.
A simple check-in with each other regarding the progress of your goals will make their achievement more likely. Not to mention, it makes everything more fun.
3. Specify the exact goal:
Sometimes, saying you want to do something is not enough to actually make you do it. Setting such a goal is too vague and ambiguous, and with all things that are not clearly defined, it leaves much room for interpretation (and procrastination!).
Without a strong, and specific goal, you leave room to wander and stray. Thus, always have a specific target in mind and you can accomplish anything, whether or not it’s the beginning of a new year. Perhaps it’s a new day that makes you want to do something a bit differently.
a quarter young 