Well here it is. Ready or not another brand new year has arrived! And as always millions of people all over the world have or are making New Year’s resolutions, many of which will be forgotten in a few days or weeks and many that are unrealistic.
Many people are setting themselves up for failure by making these grand resolutions. In recent years, I too made such resolutions, but soon realized that I was using this tradition as a way of prolonging things that really should have been given attention much earlier. For example, I would often wait until the New Year to begin a much needed alteration to my diet, exercise routines or dedication to my writing. The list could go on and on.
I also realized that with these resolutions for new-found discipline, dedication and self-improvement came much excitement in the beginning which gradually became a chore and all too soon came the devastating feeling of defeat and failure. I would find myself falling back into the same eating habits which resulted in gaining a few extra pounds on top of the pounds that I originally needed to lose, as well as my new exercise equipment would soon find a home in my graveyard of dusty unused exercise equipment.
After years of setting myself up for failure, I decided about ten years ago that I would no longer make such drastic resolutions. Instead, I would set realistic mini-goals throughout the year and live each day as if it could be my last and congratulate myself for achieving my goal at the end of each day. If I did not meet the goal I would examine why I didn’t and encourage myself to try again tomorrow. After all these years, I still make a list of daily realistic mini-goals to help ensure that I keep my life on track and do not put off my goals until New Year’s Eve and deny myself the pleasure, joy and the rewards of living and achieving my goals throughout the year. Why wait, live each day anew for we do not have a promise of tomorrow.
Be First to Comment