After thanksgiving, comes Christmas. For many of us, there are holidays in between and birthdays, office parties, informal gatherings and basically every excuse to eat, drink and be excessive. Then New Year’s Eve and the actual New Year.
By the time the new-year begins, it’s time to set impossibly high expectations for the coming year. In comes the new resolutions!
While our intentions are good, many of us do not keep up with resolutions because the energy and drive is wrong. You ate too much and now your resolution is to lose weight. You met old friends and family you haven’t seen in a while and now you want to look as good as they do.
Did you run into your ex over the holidays? Has he or she has grown in wealth, career or relationships compared to you? You set the resolution to be in a relationship, get promoted and be better.
The problems is, we set ourselves to fail when we fail to plan and match our energy to our desire.
“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics” - Albert Einstein
I’m not trying to help you set a bunch of resolutions nor deter you. But I believe we can change our mindset on how we approach new-year goals and our measurement of success, laying each goal at the altar using the W2H2 method - What, Why, How and How Long method.
What do you want to change?
Name your goal. You have to hear it and internalize it. However, the goal has to be more than vague. For example, if you say your goal is weight loss, then you have to specify that further. How many pounds do you want to lose? Which diet do you want to follow? Which exercises will you take part in? You will need to prepare by doing some research.
I personally have tried many diets and exercises. The only time I had some form of success was when I did KETO – although it’s not for everyone. So as an example, this is how you would outline your goal: To lose 5-10 pounds, using the KETO diet and walking at least 20 minutes daily.
Why do you want this as your goal?
Any goals you wish to set must be fortified with your passion reason – your WHY. It cannot be for another person. It has to be your innate want and need that would be beneficial to you and without outside influence. For example, ‘I want to lose weight so I can take control of my health and improve it.’
How will you achieve this goal?
It may look like repetition of the first one (in the WHAT section) - but it is necessary. This bolsters the information you have on the achievability of the goal and the steps you will carry. Outline the steps and refine them.
Start with outlining each day of your week. When will you make time in each day to take your walks or chosen exercise? You have chosen a diet – which day will you dedicate to food prep? You must be realistic and true to your plan, otherwise it will not work. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
How long will you take? What’s your timeline?
Any resolution worth its salt has to be seen not as a time-barred practice but has to become a way of life. So everything you do has to be in line with long-term planning. After all, lasting results are impossible to achieve in the short-term. If you don’t set your goals to be an on-going journey, you will give up easily.
The best way to ensure the journey is working is to set up milestones. List them and be as realistic as possible. Did you just lose the first 2 pounds? Did you graduate from two thousand to ten thousand steps? Mark every achievement and reward yourself in preparation for another journey towards the next one.
‘Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed!’ – Cavett Robert
By the time the new-year begins, it’s time to set impossibly high expectations for the coming year. In comes the new resolutions!
While our intentions are good, many of us do not keep up with resolutions because the energy and drive is wrong. You ate too much and now your resolution is to lose weight. You met old friends and family you haven’t seen in a while and now you want to look as good as they do.
Did you run into your ex over the holidays? Has he or she has grown in wealth, career or relationships compared to you? You set the resolution to be in a relationship, get promoted and be better.
The problems is, we set ourselves to fail when we fail to plan and match our energy to our desire.
“Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is physics” - Albert Einstein
I’m not trying to help you set a bunch of resolutions nor deter you. But I believe we can change our mindset on how we approach new-year goals and our measurement of success, laying each goal at the altar using the W2H2 method - What, Why, How and How Long method.
What do you want to change?
Name your goal. You have to hear it and internalize it. However, the goal has to be more than vague. For example, if you say your goal is weight loss, then you have to specify that further. How many pounds do you want to lose? Which diet do you want to follow? Which exercises will you take part in? You will need to prepare by doing some research.
I personally have tried many diets and exercises. The only time I had some form of success was when I did KETO – although it’s not for everyone. So as an example, this is how you would outline your goal: To lose 5-10 pounds, using the KETO diet and walking at least 20 minutes daily.
Why do you want this as your goal?
Any goals you wish to set must be fortified with your passion reason – your WHY. It cannot be for another person. It has to be your innate want and need that would be beneficial to you and without outside influence. For example, ‘I want to lose weight so I can take control of my health and improve it.’
How will you achieve this goal?
It may look like repetition of the first one (in the WHAT section) - but it is necessary. This bolsters the information you have on the achievability of the goal and the steps you will carry. Outline the steps and refine them.
Start with outlining each day of your week. When will you make time in each day to take your walks or chosen exercise? You have chosen a diet – which day will you dedicate to food prep? You must be realistic and true to your plan, otherwise it will not work. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
How long will you take? What’s your timeline?
Any resolution worth its salt has to be seen not as a time-barred practice but has to become a way of life. So everything you do has to be in line with long-term planning. After all, lasting results are impossible to achieve in the short-term. If you don’t set your goals to be an on-going journey, you will give up easily.
The best way to ensure the journey is working is to set up milestones. List them and be as realistic as possible. Did you just lose the first 2 pounds? Did you graduate from two thousand to ten thousand steps? Mark every achievement and reward yourself in preparation for another journey towards the next one.
‘Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed!’ – Cavett Robert
Do you want to set your goals for the new-year? Do you need help doing so or starting an outline of the same?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
Share your thoughts in the comments!
