Planning to fail!
Have you noticed that most of us make New Year’s Resolutions knowing in our heart that we’re going to fail? In fact it’s kind of a running joke about how long Resolutions last.
I heard someone say this morning that they set a low bar for any Resolutions they make. That’s their strategy for not failing? Why even bother?
Do you make New Year Resolutions?
Something about turning the page on a new year makes us want to do something. None of us are perfect. So there’s always something you can find that you “should” try to change. But think about this: What good does it do if you believe deep inside that you’re going to fail?
I found something that can help.
Ten years ago, I moved from “Resolutions” to goal-setting. It’s kind of the same thing. But a goal feels a bit more serious. You’re supposed to work harder on a goal than a Resolution.
But I had the same luck with goals as with Resolutions.
I followed what the gurus said. I wrote my goals down. I set a deadline. Then I folded my notebook closed and went about my life.
My goal setting ended up being yet another thing I felt guilty about. Another marker that I was a loser. For example, I set a goal to lose 20 pounds for over 10 years. The most I lost was 5. And I gained that back and more each year.
The power of a DECISION.
The year 2017 was a turning point in my life. I wrote my weight-loss goal as a decision. I also wrote the end result rather than the process.
“I will lose 20 pounds” is a decision, but here’s the problem. Our minds need clarity. And negative concepts don’t give clarity. Lose 20 pounds feels squishy.
My mind clicked when I wrote: I will weigh 200 pounds or less on Jan. 1, 2018. The power of writing my positive outcome in the form of a decision was amazing. I went into 2018 at 199 pounds.
This is your year!
What do you want to do this year? If you wrote Resolutions or goals for the year, did you make them as decisions or wishes?
Try this! Take your Resolutions or goals and put them in the form of what you will accomplish or have done by the end of the year.
Before you know it, you’ll be setting and crushing goals you can’t even imagine right now.
Yes, you can do it! I believe in you.
[…] I wrote about how I changed in my previous post. […]