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FEATURED ARTICLES           Thursday, September 09, 2010                                Email to a Friend

New Year’s Resolutions: Walking the Walk

Menka Walia

Another year has gone by and as many of you sit there, reflecting on all that has happened – all the birthdays, Christmas, Thanksgiving weekend, good times, bad times and the parties – you are also looking forward to the upcoming year.

It’s a new year and that means you have a clean slate. You can start all over again and set out new goals, new ambitions and new New Year’s Resolutions. But do you stop and think about last year’s New Year’s Resolutions? Did you ever quit smoking or lose weight? According to statistics, 25% of New Year’s Resolutions are discarded within 15 weeks; so if you haven’t done what you wanted to, you’re not alone. Moreover, statistics also illustrate that most resolutions that are successful have taken at least 5 or 6 tries before they were accomplished.

Some popular New Year’s Resolutions are to lose weight, to spend more time with family, to quit smoking, to quit drinking, to get out of debt and to become more organized. Chances are, your New Year’s Resolutions will probably be something along those lines. But year after year, many resolutions go unaccomplished.

I have problems accomplishing monthly goals, let alone yearly goals, and yearly goals tend to be more ambitious. For example, take the popular “I want to lose weight” resolution. Hypothetically, you would like to lose, let’s say, 40 lbs this year (the same resolution you made for last year). To accomplish it this year, you will probably have to make time to go to the gym regularly and adopt a well-balanced diet. On top of this, you will still have to follow your normal schedule of attending classes, if you have a job then you’ll have to continue working, and then there’s family obligations, all those parties, birthdays, Christmas, weekends, etc. Making time is difficult and it is especially tough when you add a time-consuming goal like losing 40 lbs. The saying, it’s easier said than done, certainly comes to mind.

So what should you do differently this year so that you achieve your New Year’s Resolutions?

Set realistic goals

I believe a person is more likely to accomplish their goal of losing 10 lbs this year, rather than the unrealistic expectation of losing 40 lbs. If you start by setting small, easy-to-do goals, than you can work your way up after completing each goal. This way, you become more confident and experienced and have the capacity to shed 20 lbs next year.

Create a schedule

Organization is a key aspect in accomplishing goals. By planning out your week, you can put aside time to spend towards achieving each New Year’s Resolution. Allocating time to spend at the gym, and creating time to spend with family and friends, is possible if you plan out each day and stick to the schedule.

Think long-term

If you think about the outcome, what it will be like when you have achieved the goal, you are more likely to be successful. Develop an optimistic attitude by thinking about the long-term benefits rather than the short-term loss and you will have a greater chance of being successful. For example, if your resolution this year is to get out of debt, it probably means putting in more hours at work, which also means giving up leisure time. At first, this goal is unappealing, but if you look at the long-term benefits (i.e. no more debt leading to less stress and more financial flexibility) you will realize that achieving this goal is worth every ounce of effort.

Keeping these three steps in mind, embark on your New Year’s Resolution with a positive attitude, and don’t worry if at first you don’t succeed, just keep trying. If you are persistent enough, success is inevitable.

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