As we head to the end of January, many of our resolutions are falling apart. This month we’re going to take a look at why that happens and give you some ides about what you can do to get back on track.
The excitement of a year full of possibility is wonderful. We idealize things we want to improve with the same thrill. But, the rush can’t last. That energy is great for building a vision. But, there’s a difference between vision and goal.
Visions are ideal. They pull us forward with dreams of a better us. Visions shouldn’t be practical. When make resolutions most of us stop at vision. When the rush subsides they fall apart.
Let’s look your 2019 resolutions. How many changes you’ve decided to make at once? Each of us has a limited supply of drive, and will power. Taking on too much will doom you to failure. Break your vision down into manageable pieces, decide which ones are most important, make a list of them.
Once you have your list be honest about which item is most important. Take your top priority item, cross it off your list, then put the list away. We’ll get back to it later. For now, we’re going to focus on the most important piece of your vision and make it a goal.
So, you’ve decided getting in shape is the most important thing on your list. What does “getting in shape” mean to you? Loosing a few pounds, getting more muscular, finding that six pack? Get as specific as possible. If you’re looking to loose weight, how many pounds would you like to take off. Getting more muscular could be about bigger arms, chest, or legs. Understand what you’re going for so you’ll know when you get there.
You now have a long term goal. Think about what it will take to accomplish it, and how long you’ll need to get there. Then, break the goal down into small, digestible, pieces. Milestones that you can use to measure your progress. If you don’t meet a short term goal, revise the schedule and keep going. It’s not time to give up, it’s just that your time frame wasn’t realistic. You are always allowed to revise your dates.
Let’s say you have 20 pounds to loose. You know that you usually loose about 2 pounds a week. So, you’ll be loosing weight for about 10 weeks. What about maintaining that ideal weight once you get there? You need to make your new lifestyle a habit. Let’s give it another 10 weeks. So 20 weeks total until you’re done.
Once you’ve worked at your first goal for a few weeks, think about whether you can handle more change. If you can manage more, get your list out and start working on the second goal. Don’t worry if you cant get it all done this year. You’re far better off only getting to a few things this year than not finishing anything. Trust the process. It works. Happy goal setting, and let me know how it goes.