How to Make Successful New Year’s Resolutions

As we go forward into the new year, I wanted to share with you an article, written by my mentor, John Di Lemme, that I found very helpful and meaningful in my planning.  I hope you like it, too!

> How to Make Successful New Year’s Resolutions
>by John Di Lemme

> As 2011 rolls around and we prepare for a new
> year, the habit of making New Year’s resolutions
> comes to the forefront. This past week, I asked
> my students to list what they believe to be
> the top three New Year resolutions for society
> in general.
>
> To no surprise, the top three were lose weight, make
> more money and work out more. While the intentions
> behind the resolutions are good, the likelihood that
> the Resolutions will be achieved is not so great.
>
> According to general statistics, approximately 45%
> of adult Americans make New Year resolutions every
> year. Unfortunately, about 97% of the resolutions
> are never completely fulfilled…
>
> Why? Most resolutions are unrealistic and there is
> no action behind the resolution. Someone can say
> that they want to make more money, but if they
> continue to go on shopping sprees, then it
> is not going to happen. Similarly, a person can say
> that they are going to lose weight, but if they don’t
> exercise and continue to eat junk, then no change
> will occur…
>
> The base word of Resolution is resolute, which
> means firmly resolved. So basically when you set
> New Year’s resolutions, you are saying that losing
> weight, making more money, etc. will be firmly resolved
> within the next twelve months. You aren’t saying how
> it will be fully resolved or what commitment you will
> make to fully resolve the issue. It’s like a building
> with no Foundation.
>
> It will eventually crumble, because there’s nothing
> holding it up. There’s no commitment or action
> behind the resolution. Furthermore, most of the
> things that you are saying will be fully resolved
> took you longer than twelve months to create so why
> limit yourself to fully resolving those things in a
> twelve month window.
>
> Instead of making resolutions that you will likely
> not achieve, set goals with a detailed list of action
> steps that will assist you in Successfully Achieving
> those goals.
>
> Here are some examples for you…
>
> Goal: Lose weight and exercise more
> Action Steps: Join gym, exercise 3x per
> week, eat more fruits/veggies, throw out all
> junk food in the house, drink a gallon of water
> each day
>
> Goal: Spend more time with family
> Action Steps: Make a date with your family
> every week and do something special.
> (special does not mean costly)
>
> Goal: Increase Personal Development time
> Action Steps: Schedule at least fifteen minutes
> per day for reading an inspirational book,
> listening to motivational CD/DVDs, etc.
> Increase the amount of time after committing
> to the fifteen minutes per day and making it one
> of your daily habits…
>
> Now, doesn’t that make more sense than simply
> making a New Year’s resolution and never
> achieving it? Someone once said, “A New Year’s
> resolution is something that goes in one year
> and out the other”
>
> Your goals and dreams are worth more than that,
> right? Stop treating them like a trend that in
> one day and out the next. Make a commitment to
> yourself and take the daily action needed to
> achieve your goals and dreams.
>
> Now, that’s a real reason to put on the party
> hats, blow the whistles and scream Happy New Year!
>
> Motivating Champions WorldWide for 10+ Years!
>
>
Article reprint from…

John Di Lemme
International Motivational Speaker
http://www.ChampionsLiveFree.com