From Wishful Thinking to DONE: How to Accomplish Those New Year’s Resolutions
Buckle your seatbelts, cause it’s that time of year…again. Time for a fresh start. A clean slate. A new beginning. It’s January 1st. It’s the time of making goals, reviewing where we are compared to where we were, and exploring where we want to go from here. Happy (Flippin’) New Year!
For some of us, the new year is a joyous celebration of all the possibilities of what lies ahead. There’s excitement and anticipation and a resolve to make some positive changes in our lives. We’ve got our resolution lists ready, the best of intentions, and the energy of possibility looming in the air.
But for others, it’s a time of mixed emotions, regrets of goals not realized, and a self-defeating attitude of “it didn’t work before so why try again.” We may wallow in promises made to ourselves and broken. You may know (either from personal experience or from what you’ve heard) that most New Year’s resolutions fizzle out by the end of January? That’s a lot of hopes, goals, and dreams being cast aside in a short period of time. And for what? Lack of wanting? Probably not.
You’ve probably heard the old saying “best of intentions.” We all have them. But stuff, (like life) just gets in the way. And we can find ourselves right back where we started. But we must keep in mind that wanting something isn’t enough to make it happen. True and lasting change requires not only a decision on our part to WANT a change but also some action to BRING ABOUT a change.
What change are you WANTING for the new year? Many resolutions involve:
- Better Health (lose weight, eat better, exercise regularly, manage stress, etc.)
- Better Relationships (find a partner, lose a partner, better communication, more time with friends and family, etc.)
- Better Career/Education/Finances (go back to school, make more money, pay off debt, get a better job, etc.)
But you must also find a way to BRING ABOUT the changes you are wanting. Because if you don’t do anything to get what you want, how do you expect to get it? It’s like planning a road trip without a map. You may know where you want to go but you don’t have a clear plan on how to get there.
Here’s some suggestion for how you can take your intentions and resolutions from wishful thinking to DONE:
- Write It Down. It’s one thing to think about what you want, and another thing entirely to write it down. Putting what you want in writing makes it more real. Think of it as a declaration and announcement to yourself and the world of your intention. Then write out the steps of HOW you will reach each goal and WHEN. Remember to set realistic goals for yourself.
- Get Visual. There’s tremendous power in pictures. Just think about TV and movies and you can easily see how getting the full story without pictures can be a challenge. Create a vision board or collage of what you want. Include pictures, drawings, and any other visual representation of your goal. Then post it where you can see it every day.
- Enlist Some Support. Achieving goals is easier with some support. Think about your own accomplishments and the support you received along the way. Support may look different for different people or different circumstances. Support can be a friend lending an ear (or shoulder to cry on) as you vent your fears, failures, and stumbling blocks. Or support can be someone lending you something you need to achieve your goal. Once you have a clear idea of your goals, figure out what kind of support you need to reach those goals, then go find it.
