New Year; New You…Right??? How to Stay on Track…

Yes we’ve all heard it “New Year; New me” right??? Well that’s the age old saying, but what are you doing to help this become a reality? We all like to think that a new day is the start of a new beginning, but what about a new year…that can be exciting right? Yes! It’s always been believed that a new year or (date as I like to call it) comes with all these automatic changes, but does it? No…not usually? I feel that nothing happens automatically without the need to want the change to occur and the effort that goes along with it. That means working towards this change to make things go according to your plan. Speaking of plan…you do have a plan right? Well the key to seeing change is first being able to identify what needs to happen. This can be done by observations. It’s usually not hard to identify what we see as being a problem in our lives, or identifying what we want to change. The problem usually comes with not having a plan for the change we seek and then sticking to it. There’s a saying that “when you write it down, it becomes real” and this is the start of your strategic plan to help you stay on track!

WRITE DOWN YOUR PLAN/GOAL

Nothing is more real than seeing your life’s plan written down on paper…this way you can go step by step to making it more obtainable. Visuals are very helpful, so using your visual as a guide can increase your momentum to stay focused, because after all seeing your plan written on should be very motivational. Don’t be afraid to push yourself. Write it down even if you feel it seems out of reach, because when you’re seeing the other things you’ve written down come to pass…then those you feel aren’t so reachable may help to keep you driven.

Applaud Your Efforts

As you go through your list and start to mark off what you’ve accomplished…reward yourself! Staying focused with everyday life happening all around us and trying to change  our old ways isn’t easy, so once you can see the process being made coming to play that’s the perfect opportunity to thank yourself for a job well done!

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Now none of us are perfect…contrary to what many want to believe. We all are humans and not being perfect is okay. So, if you happen to fall short to one of your written goals… that’s fine! Don’t be so ready to scratch it off the list, but instead give that goal another try. Remember the purpose of writing the goals down was to see them through all the way until the end. Think about the little engine who could and think…yes I can too!

Keep Your Goals Private

Often time we have things in our lives that we “should” be able to share and want to share, but remembering that not everybody’s life, goals and mindset will be like yours and so that’s where the envy and jealousy comes in. Yes we all are a direct reflection of our own lives, so if there is something about your life you don’t like change it then! However, others may not have any plans for making changes within their life and may see yours as a waste of time…keep your goals to yourself! It shouldn’t make others bitter or envious of those of us who may want  better for ourselves/themselves, but often times it does…and that’s so sad! The term “show them better than you can tell them” fits this scenario perfectly!

Start Small; Finish Big

I feel that many “new year resolutions” we’ll call them aren’t met, because we want the process of to be quick and easy. That is not always the case. Great things don’t always start out that way and they take time to accomplish.  Start with small goals and as you crush those…then add the bigger ones. Prove to yourself that you can do it! Be willing to put in that necessary time as well and don’t have a time limit. Usually when it comes too easy it’s not worth having. So, don’t be discouraged if you don’t the feel the process is moving as swiftly as the next person. Remembering all of our paths are different for a reason. Travel your path at your pace and watch how fast you get there. Also, keep in mind that you only fail when you don’t try at all.

 

I hope that this will help you to look at the whole new year;new me saying in a different light. I’m not saying that it’s not something that can’t be proven to be true, but it might be something that’s not proven to be done in a year. Just keep pushing and don’t monitor the date. Until next time…