How To Succeed w/ New Years Resolutions in 2012
You know you do it. We all do. Even people who say their only resolution is not to make a resolution do it. They just don't tell anybody. Let's face it, New Years just happens to be a seemingly logical start point to us reaching our goals, whatever they might be. That is why we are all so drawn to making resolutions. Sadly, we also know very few people actually succeed at accomplishing their resolutions. Just look at any gym the first week of January. You can barely walk there are so many people. By March, only the loyal few are still there. So what is the secret? What allows those "loyal few" to succeed where the vast majority of those who begin with the best intentions, ultimately fail? I believe it is two very specific things which separate those who will reach the year 2013 with successes in their resolutions and the majority of us who will be resolving yet again 12 months from now to do it all over again.
I believe the secret to goal/resolution success are these two things, determination and action. Simple words. Not seemingly much pop to em. Ultimately though those who succeed will assuredly have used both these tools while the rest of us will have not.
My interpretation of determination in this context is literally forcing yourself to almost separate yourself from you. To become your own coach, your own support system. This is not instinctive to us as a whole. I mean really, if you think about it, what makes an 18 year old world-class gymnast or track athlete good enough to go for the gold? Do you really think they wake up every morning thinking "YAY I get to do 8 hours of exercise and fit in school in there somewhere and never have time for friends or a normal teenage life? Or let's use bodybuilders as an example. All men want to look like the guys on the cover of those magazines. Very few do. Why? Do you see what those guys eat? Don't you think they want that Big Mac extra value meal extra large? Do you really think they want to stuff another bite of tuna or chicken breast and broccoli in their mouths? What makes those people different is (and I'm sure they get enough stimulus from their trainers I'll give you that) their determination allows them to push the bad stuff away while the rest of us don't. They have the ability to do what is right for their bodies and minds even when their own bodies and minds say "come on, it has two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickled onions on a sesame seed bun!"
We are a nation of "right now" and right now, you want that big mac. Those who succeed have the determination to look past the right now and remember that big mac is only going to end up hanging off their gut or off their thighs as yet another pound which must be lost.
If you want to succeed, you have to stop waiting for someone to inspire you, guide you, its all inside of you. Nobody else made you fat. Nobody else made you an alcoholic. Nobody else got you in that dead end job. You can blame someone else all you want in therapy. But at the end of the day you know the only person to blame and the only person to hold accountable who can ultimately help you is the person looking back at you in the mirror.
We love to blame others or wait for others to come and save us. Look at all the stupid workout or nutrition fads on tv. Every self-proclaimed expert will (for a price) be that savior you've been waiting for. The one person to teach you how to eat correctly or to sell you that magic pill. Are you kidding me? You're a grown man or woman and you don't know how to eat correctly? Of course you do. You just don't do it.
So if you want to succeed at your resolution(s), become determined. Stop blaming others, stop waiting for someone to come save you. Hold yourself accountable and damnit do something about it. Step outside yourself and stop doing the things in the short-run that are going to hurt you in the long-run. It isn't easy, but it is possible.
Second thing I spoke of was "action". Action sounds like an easy word but for us Americans it can be one of the most difficult ones to implement. We are a nation of dreamers. Yet those who created this great country of ours did one thing the rest of us don't always do, they first dreamed, then, they acted. Dreams without action are just that, dreams. Flights of fancy which cannot manifest themselves into reality unless you "DO" something. It's great to imagine you can just think your way to happiness and success, but ultimately the real world requires action. Oh and inaction, that is an action too. Sadly it is the only action most of us take which is why we are in the situations we are sometimes. If you want to succeed this year, you must act on it. You must DO.
Friends, use that determination to get yourself off that couch and into that gym and then use action to affect change in your life. Use determination to put down the bottle or that cigarette and use action to find a healthy alternative.Use determination to update that resume and use action to aggressively pursue that better job. Use determination as the catalyst to move you toward your resolution, and action to ultimately attain it.
There is only one thing that is certain my friends, time waits for no one. A year from now will you be looking back at yet another failed opportunity to accomplish the goals you set out for or will you celebrate New Years 2013 as the year you finally accomplished those things you always hoped you would. At this exact moment, both are just as real and both just as attainable.
What road will you take? I hope you take the one less traveled my friends. The one which will lead you to being the best you, you can be. I believe in you, you just have to believe in yourself. Happy New Year!
I believe the secret to goal/resolution success are these two things, determination and action. Simple words. Not seemingly much pop to em. Ultimately though those who succeed will assuredly have used both these tools while the rest of us will have not.
My interpretation of determination in this context is literally forcing yourself to almost separate yourself from you. To become your own coach, your own support system. This is not instinctive to us as a whole. I mean really, if you think about it, what makes an 18 year old world-class gymnast or track athlete good enough to go for the gold? Do you really think they wake up every morning thinking "YAY I get to do 8 hours of exercise and fit in school in there somewhere and never have time for friends or a normal teenage life? Or let's use bodybuilders as an example. All men want to look like the guys on the cover of those magazines. Very few do. Why? Do you see what those guys eat? Don't you think they want that Big Mac extra value meal extra large? Do you really think they want to stuff another bite of tuna or chicken breast and broccoli in their mouths? What makes those people different is (and I'm sure they get enough stimulus from their trainers I'll give you that) their determination allows them to push the bad stuff away while the rest of us don't. They have the ability to do what is right for their bodies and minds even when their own bodies and minds say "come on, it has two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickled onions on a sesame seed bun!"
We are a nation of "right now" and right now, you want that big mac. Those who succeed have the determination to look past the right now and remember that big mac is only going to end up hanging off their gut or off their thighs as yet another pound which must be lost.
If you want to succeed, you have to stop waiting for someone to inspire you, guide you, its all inside of you. Nobody else made you fat. Nobody else made you an alcoholic. Nobody else got you in that dead end job. You can blame someone else all you want in therapy. But at the end of the day you know the only person to blame and the only person to hold accountable who can ultimately help you is the person looking back at you in the mirror.
We love to blame others or wait for others to come and save us. Look at all the stupid workout or nutrition fads on tv. Every self-proclaimed expert will (for a price) be that savior you've been waiting for. The one person to teach you how to eat correctly or to sell you that magic pill. Are you kidding me? You're a grown man or woman and you don't know how to eat correctly? Of course you do. You just don't do it.
So if you want to succeed at your resolution(s), become determined. Stop blaming others, stop waiting for someone to come save you. Hold yourself accountable and damnit do something about it. Step outside yourself and stop doing the things in the short-run that are going to hurt you in the long-run. It isn't easy, but it is possible.
Second thing I spoke of was "action". Action sounds like an easy word but for us Americans it can be one of the most difficult ones to implement. We are a nation of dreamers. Yet those who created this great country of ours did one thing the rest of us don't always do, they first dreamed, then, they acted. Dreams without action are just that, dreams. Flights of fancy which cannot manifest themselves into reality unless you "DO" something. It's great to imagine you can just think your way to happiness and success, but ultimately the real world requires action. Oh and inaction, that is an action too. Sadly it is the only action most of us take which is why we are in the situations we are sometimes. If you want to succeed this year, you must act on it. You must DO.
Friends, use that determination to get yourself off that couch and into that gym and then use action to affect change in your life. Use determination to put down the bottle or that cigarette and use action to find a healthy alternative.Use determination to update that resume and use action to aggressively pursue that better job. Use determination as the catalyst to move you toward your resolution, and action to ultimately attain it.
There is only one thing that is certain my friends, time waits for no one. A year from now will you be looking back at yet another failed opportunity to accomplish the goals you set out for or will you celebrate New Years 2013 as the year you finally accomplished those things you always hoped you would. At this exact moment, both are just as real and both just as attainable.
What road will you take? I hope you take the one less traveled my friends. The one which will lead you to being the best you, you can be. I believe in you, you just have to believe in yourself. Happy New Year!
Comments
Post a Comment