20 Ways I Plan to Keep My New Year’s Resolutions
February is rapidly approaching. Know how many of my 2009 resolutions I’ve accomplished so far? None. Nada. Zip. Statistically speaking I should have accomplished nearly 4 of my 42 goals so far, but I can honestly say I’ve let January fly right past me.
What I’ve done so far:
Messing around with guitar (goal #3) - I actually had an old guitar lying around upstairs. I had it restrung for $40. I’ve been trying to teach myself basic chords, but it’s painfully obvious that I’m not a natural. Chordbook is a good place to start, but I think I may have to bite the bullet and invest in a teacher once or twice a week. The good news is that a guitar teacher is relatively inexpensive. I’ve done a bit of shopping around and have found a few decent looking tutors for under $25 an hour.
Teach yourself a new language (goal #4) - I put an ad on a free classifieds site offering to trade my English for some basic Mandarin (I’ve decided I’m going to visit China), and got a whole bunch of responses. So far I’ve only actually met up with one person, and we ended up messing around and having fun, so for now my vocabulary remains limited to Ni Hao (‘Hello’) and Sheh Sheh (‘Thank You’), but a language exchange definitely seems like the way to go. Not only is it free, but you get to meet some interesting characters too!
Exercise regularly (goal #10) – I’ve been to the gym a grand total of three times this month. Three. Needless to say at this rate the only 6-pack I’m likely to possess will have beer in it! I have, however, noticed two interesting things while working out.
1. I feel terrible during the hour that I’m doing it (I’m incredibly unfit)
2. I feel terrific when I’m done, and the feeling lasts for the rest of the day
I think you’ll agree with me when I say that’s a pretty awesome trade-off! I’m also considering in investing in a Personal Trainer ($50 for a 45 minute session) just to get all the techniques down.
Anyway, as you can probably tell, my progress hasn’t exactly been ‘stellar’. Granted, I only wrote out ‘the list’ a month ago, but I can already feel myself drifting off track. With every passing day, the chances of me acheiving those lofty goals feels further and further away.
Well screw that! I made myself a promise, and I intend to keep it this time. Here’s my game-plan for getting myself back on track.
1. Write your resolutions down! Duh, right? If you’re serious about really changing yourself, the first thing you need to do is get your resolutions on paper. It’ll go a long way to stopping you from forgetting about the big picture, but to be honest I think it’s more important as a symbolic gesture: it will make your commitment real and concrete, and not merely some distant desire hiding in the back of your mind.
2. Put them somewhere you’ll see them every day. Life is full of distractions (I know it’s a cliché, but it’s a cliché for good reason, ok?), and it’s all too easy to lose sight of your long term goals. Put that list of resolutions anywhere and everywhere, and don’t let yourself get desensitized to it.
3. Set deadlines. Someone once said that goals are dreams with deadlines. Setting dates (when applicable) will give you a sense of urgency, and stop you from conveniently putting things on the backburner.
4. Prioritize them. Like I said, the chances of me reaching ALL my goals aren’t great, and frankly I’d be pretty happy with a 50% success rate. Having said that, there are some things on my list that are far more important to me than others. For example, learning a musical instrument would be nice, but it’s not in the same league as exercising regularly or making an effort to get out of my comfort zone.
5. Get detailed. Making specific plans and setting targets for as many resolutions as possible will significantly improve your chances of success. For example, one of my goals (#21) is to expand my social circle. Well, that’s great and all, but what exactly does that mean? It’s a little vague. Remember, those who fail to plan, plan to fail!
6. Measure your progress. How will you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve come from? If getting fit is one of your resolutions, take photos of yourself every week in your underwear (probably best to keep these in a safe place!). The next time you’re feeling lazy and thinking of skipping the gym or that afternoon run, flip back to that first photo and you may well find yourself getting a second wind :)
7. Figure out why each resolution is so important to you. This is a big one. Let’s say, for example, that you decide you want to quit smoking. That’s great – but why do you want to do it? To save money? To improve your health? To break an addiction? Figure out the rationale behind all of your objectives, and your chances of meeting them will go up exponentially.
8. Tell people. Letting people you know and respect (and whose respect you value) about your designs will help keep you on the straight and narrow because you won’t want to ‘lose face’. The fear of shame is a powerful motivator!
9. Reward yourself when you make progress. Ok, so just accomplishing one of your goals and bettering yourself as a person should be reward enough, but heck, sometimes you just earn a little something extra. Know what I mean? If you’ve done something truly exceptional, don’t be afraid to treat yourself guilt free.
10. Stay focused. There are so many distractions in our lives that it’s all too easy to lose sight of the picture. Watch yourself – a year can be over in the blink of an eye.
11. Don’t get discouraged. If your resolutions were easy, they wouldn’t really be resolutions would they? On any given task, you’re probably going to fail a bunch of times before you succeed. If it was easy and it was worth doing, you probably would have done it already!
12. Make a contract with yourself. Sounds stupid, but writing up a list of your obligations and signing it can be a very powerful motivator.
13. Consider enlisting expert help. Ok, I’m not talking about a therapist here (though in my case I can’t imagine one would hurt!), I’m talking about paying for the services of an ‘expert’ with skills relating to your goals. In my case, a personal trainer and guitar teacher would really help me to achieve at least two of my goals.
14. Don’t use one failure as an excuse to throw in the towel. There will be many times when you fail, and let’s face it – failure sucks. It literally hurts, and it’s only natural to want to avoid that feeling by just giving up. Don’t. Persistence is the name of the game. Someone once said: A failure is a person who has blundered but is not capable of cashing on the experience. Translation: Failures are an important lesson on the road to success.
15. Be prepared to make sacrifices. Good things take time, and progress often entails short term sacrifices for long term gains.
16. Don’t be half-assed about things. Sort of follows on from the last one. If you’re really serious about making changes in your life, throw yourself into it with everything you have.
17. Keep a journal. This was actually one of my original 42 resolutions, but it fits in here as well. There’s no better way to track your progress, and keeping a written record of your trials and tribulations (as well as how you react to them) will prove invaluable.
18. Be realistic. Sure, I’d really like to make a billion dollars, cure cancer, and climb Everest in 2009, but let’s face facts – it aint gonna happen. Challenge yourself, but don’t set yourself impossible tasks. There’s a difference between being ambitious and being plain unrealistic.
19. Think outside the box. There are more than one ways to skin a cat. Take my goal to learn an instrument, for example. So far I’ve started with a guitar, because that’s what I had lying around, but who knows if it’s the right instrument for me? It’s entirely possible that I will wind up hating the damn thing, in which case it may well be worth switching to the piano! The bottom line is that there are many roads to success. Look at all your goals from as many angles as possible.
20. Keep your passion burning. Saved the most important one for last! Whatever your goals may be, something inside you wants to make a change. That takes courage. Don’t let yourself become desensitized to your task, don’t let your journey become mundane. Remember what’s at stake here.
No, keeping your resolutions won’t be easy, but that’s life. Generally speaking, good things take time, effort, and sacrifice. If you’re not willing to put it all on the table, you might as well quit right now and save yourself the trouble.
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Great post! I’d definitely recommend having a few sessions with a personal trainer before you get too invlolved at the gym. It’s really important to make sure you have the technique right otherwise you could end up with some serious injuries, especially if you are weight training. :)
Thanks FruGal! I wish you had of told me that a few days ago, because I am now nursing a strained shoulder :)
Just started with the PT today actually – was really good, and definitely worth the money.
Sounds like some aggersive goals. I’ve been playing guitar for almost 12 years now it takes a lot of time to get just good at it. When I got started I took lessons for once a week and played an hour a day. In the last 12 years I’ve learned a lot and played in several bands.
Also I don’t want to play devil advocate and stear you away from any of your goals but you may be setting to many goals. It’s just a thought but sometimes when we have to many things going on we tend get overwhelmed and not do anything. Just a thought.
Also check out 43things.com It is a website community for people who want to accomplish goals and help others with theirs. Check it out.
Hope this helps,
Chris
Hey Chris, you may be right on the too many goals thing – that’s why I think it’s worth prioritizing them. Some are ‘must-dos’, others are just bonuses :)