Making that New Year's Resolution Happen

The first week in January is a great time for setting goals. Even if you didn’t get to where you wanted to be in 2006, the New Year provides a fresh start on building the life you want to live. People make all kinds of New Year's Resolutions – finding a more exciting job, losing weight and living healthy, or learning a foreign language are just a few of the many goals that people vow to fulfill. Unfortunately by early February, most people have given up on their resolutions and returned to their normal routine.

Why is that? Well, it can be argued that people (Americans especially) look for short-term solutions to problems that often can only be accomplished over a long period of time. The problem lies not in the goal, but rather in the execution. And the answer to the problem is creating positive momentum every day towards your goal.

It is often said (and applied to business): If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards. I agree with this statement. With life, it’s easy to get sidetracked; with weddings, birthdays, aging family members, vacations, and new family arrivals; there is always something to distract you from accomplishing your goals. These are all important things and need to be balanced with the life changes you hope to make. How do you achieve this balance? Obviously you can’t create time; but you can make your time more efficient by prioritizing things that need to get done. Even if you only have 15 minutes free in a day, do one thing that will bring you closer to making your resolution happen. Procrastination is the enemy, so heed the words of Thomas Jefferson and “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Create short-term goals and reward yourself along the way. While you want to relax on the weekend and on vacations, try and spend a little time each day working towards your goal.

All these little accomplishments add-up and before you know it you’ll be thinking of a new resolution to conquer.