New Year Resolutions: where you've Been going wrong ~ Part II

Here's part II of "New Year Resolutions: where you've been going wrong". If you haven't read part I yet, make sure you do that first!

Mistake #6 Failing To Plan

We say we want to do things, but often we leave it to chance, or to God… to actually get us to do them. I believe nothing happens by chance. As they saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You need to devise a plan, fast! Otherwise, how are you going to make sure you do the things you want to do?

This is another thing I help my clients with. A good plan should be tailored to you and only you. It should take into account your personality, your values, your lifestyle, the type of work you do, your family , your schedule, your free time… to put together a great plan you may need to learn certain organisational and time management skills you might not have right now. But I guarantee you that when you have devised the right plan of action for you, it won’t be in your head, it will be on paper, and when you take a look at it, when you think about it, you will feel your motivation levels soar.

Mistake #7 Forgetting To Strategise

After you’ve devised a great plan that works for you, you need go to strategize. A great plan deserves a great strategy. A strategy comprises all the extra things you need to do to make sure you adhere to your plan. Do you have everything you need in place?

For example: Last week I helped a client devised their own plan. Her Resolution is to lose a stone by the 1st of January.

After we worked out her plan I asked her “now, how are you going to make sure that happens? do you have everything you need?”. “What do you mean?” She asked. “Well, if you are going to be eating healthily and exercising for the next four weeks, do you have everything you need? do you have healthy foods in your home? do you have all the workout gear you need? do you need to take your gear into work with you, or are you gonna go home to get it and then go work out…?”

This is when you get into the nitty gritty of things. As I always say to my clients, you have to become a bit of a Ninja! You need to strategize, have everything covered, and you need to have it covered so doing the things you want to do is as easy and enjoyable as possible. Achieving your Resolutions shouldn’t seem an impossible feat, you should feel like you can do it. You want to make things as easy as possible for yourself. You have to help yourself succeed.

Mistake #8 Not Telling Anyone About Your Resolutions

Another bad habit a lot of people have: secrecy. “I won’t tell anyone just in case I fail…”

Why not tell everyone to make sure you succeed?

Studies show that people who have a supporting family and friends reach their objectives faster, and also live happier and longer lives! This is why support groups of all sorts have proven to be so popular and successful.

If your family and friends are not as supporting as you’d like them to be, finding like-minded people who share the same or similar goals will help you get what you want faster and more easily. And you’ll get to enjoy the process more too.

Mistake #9 Making Excuses!

But I don’t have the time, it’s too cold, it’s too dark, I failed in the past, I don’t know if I can do it, it’s just that…

Time to get rid of your BUT!

Make a list of excuses, get them all out of your system and onto paper! Do it real quick, now, look at them and realize there is always going to be stuff in your way. It is your job to move it aside so you can move past it, it’s your job to move over it, around it, through it, do whatever you have to do… the tiny percentage of people who are going to fulfil their resolutions this year also have stuff going on, just like you and me. The difference is they do what they need to do anyway.

Don’t fancy a run in the rain? I work out outdoors all year round, come wind, rain or snow.

Too lazy to wake up an hour earlier? TV Chef Clodagh McKenna wakes up at 5.30am every day and says that waking up after 6am is a waste of a day.

Reluctant to stop eating cake? A client of mine has lost 1 stone and a half in the past 21 days, while you’ve been tucking in.

My question to you is: what are you willing to do to get what you want? how far, how long, how hard are you willing to work to get what you want?

Mistake #10 Thinking You Can Make It On Your Own

In my whole life, there isn’t one thing I’ve accomplished on my own. And neither have you. We didn’t learn to smile on our own, we didn’t learn to eat on our own… we didn’t even learn to walk on our own, mum or dad were there, a few steps away, guiding us, supporting us, motivating us, helping us make it!

Thinking that you will be able to make it on your own, relying solely on your own will power is a big mistake that will only bring you frustration and disappointment.

Even the most successful businesspeople, artists and athletes have a team of people help them achieve their goals.

As Bono said: sometimes you can’t make it on your own!

The sooner you realize this the quicker you’ll achieve your new year resolutions. You must surround yourself with the right team; people who are going to guide you, motivate you, uplift you… mentors, coaches, family members, friends and loved ones… people who just won’t let you fail!

So, you might not have all the resources you need yet. Maybe you need to get planning, maybe you need to save some money, read a book … you may need to talk to someone, make a phone call, write an email, take a course, get coaching… but you don’t need the stars to align in the sky before you can get started.

Start right now and don’t be too surprised to find that… you can achieve anything you want.