New Years Resolutions vs Specific Goals

Happy New Year. I hope you have had a lovely Christmas. Wishing you a wonderful 2011.

It might just seem like a strange idea for me to suggest you don’t make any new year’s resolutions. I have good reasons:

  • People usually make them halfheartedly
  • They are usually very generic and not specific, e.g. lose weight, go to the gym more, eat more healthily
  • People set too many at the same time
  • Most people give up by the end of January

You see the trouble is, people often make new year’s resolutions not because they want to but because they feel they have to. People ask what your new year’s resolution is and they feel they have to give an answer.

Goals
Goals

Instead of just giving a generic answer like lose weight, how about you actually spend some time instead working out proper, specific goals. Use the SMART way of writing your goal – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Always include a date for your goal and a measurable outcome.

Think about what it is you actually want to achieve. How do you want to feel? So instead of just saying I want to lose weight, you could set a goal like this instead:

By 31st March 2011 I will weigh ………. (insert your goal weight).

Now write down how you will look, feel and any sounds that are important to your goal (e.g. hearing people congratulate you on how good you look). Put your goal somewhere where you will see it. Read it regularly.

If it seems too big, then break it down into smaller steps.

E.g. By 14th January I will weigh ……….(insert intermediate goal weight). Repeat these smaller goals, until you have achieved your bigger goal.

It is also important to congratulate yourself and celebrate your success. So have something specific in mind for when you have achieved your goal. For example, you could treat yourself to a new outfit when you have reached your ideal weight, or a new hairstyle. Whatever it is this will help with your motivation towards achieving your goal.

Write out your goals now and how you want to feel when you have achieved them. In upcoming articles I will be writing more about using EFT to help you lose weight. EFT can be used to help you achieve any goal. You can use EFT to help you if you are struggling with motivation, lack of confidence, not believing in yourself, failures in the past etc. It really is a flexible tool that can help you in many different ways to achieve your goals.

“A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”

Here’s to your success.

“A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”