Keeping Up With Your Resolutions

January is to resolutions like February is to failure. Like most people, every January, I make a New Year?s resolution. Usually for me, it is weight loss related. I lose the same December slash Christmas pounds every new year. And then I quit. Sometimes by February. Sometimes by the spring. The bottom line is I never follow through with the aspirations I set for myself. Actually, I can?t say never. One year, about five years ago, I set a different objective for myself. I decided I would read the Bible from page one to page 8789. I started the second day of the year. I had a daily bible that had several verses, a synopsis (that I could understand) and a prayer. Although it took me fourteen months, not twelve, I did it! And?I enjoyed it. I was so proud of myself the entire year I was following through with my resolution. Most people that knew me knew I was reading the Bible as my new resolution. When I was finished, I was so proud of myself. I learned so much, was closer to God, had a more powerful prayer life and I completed a large goal I had set for myself. ?Resolutions are popular because everyone feels they could use a little improvement.?- Marilu Henner When I read the bible, even though it took me longer than one calendar year, I succeeded in the first, and only, New Year?s resolution I had made for myself. I did not quit. How did I do it? ?Resolutions are a wonderful thing if we can keep them, but many resolutions go by the wayside because we have not done anything different with our mindset.?- Monica Johnson Forbes reported that a mere 8% of people who make New Year?s resolutions are successful in completing the goal. 8%?

Start small??and make your goal specific.

Have a target and realize you won?t attain that win immediately. After all, you have all year, right? Everyone knows with losing weight a safer way is to lose one to two pounds a week, especially if you want to maintain the weight loss.

Change one behavior at a time.

Work on one goal at a time. All or nothing is not a healthy way to think when it comes to your New Year?s objective. Small steps, in a forward motion, will lead you out the door.

Talk about it. Put it out there.

Post on social media about your ambitions. Even sharing your small failures will help you to start again, try again, and most likely you will continue to meet your resolution.

Share your goal on paper.

Research shows if you say your resolution out loud, if you write that goal down, there is a much better chance you will follow through to meet it. Hold yourself accountable.

Buddy Up!

Find a friend that shares your resolution and you can rely on each other to meet the goal. Find a buddy who also wants to lose weight, stop smoking, get organized, or like me, read the bible from beginning to end. Don’t forget to ask your buddy for their advice either. One of my friends managed to give up smoking by switching to vaping. She did some research into Juul starter kits online and found that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional smoking. Ultimately, it’s all about finding ways to stick to your resolution that work for you.

Don?t think of yourself as a failure.

Give yourself patience and if you fail one day, start again the following day. You can start as many times as needed–as long as you continue with your resolution. You can start today.

Support System

Ask for support??from your friends and family or from a professional. Trying to meet a goal alone sets you up for failure. Encouragement from your peers will help you be successful. Talk to your friends and family about how you will make it.

Don?t give up.

Get up, brush yourself off. Don?t allow yourself to quit, again, like last year. Michael Jordan probably never quit anything. He once said, ?If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit!!!?

Time

Find the time to complete your goal. Time is your friend when it comes to resolutions; to be successful you must make time for the goal. Schedule your resolution in your planner. Be kind to yourself. Reward yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. ?

?Age wrinkles the body; quitting wrinkles the soul.? -Douglas MacArthur

There are many motivational quotes about falling and flying. Basically baby birds fall before they learn to fly. You will fall, too. And sometimes, when you fall, you will learn to fly. Let?s fly together and show February, March and April who is boss. Afterwards, we can work on the following months. I hope for you a successful February and ten months after that. I plan on being successful, also. Let?s do this together!