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

It is that time of the year when a lot of us reminisce about what we have accomplished over the past 12 months, and, start thinking about new goals and objectives for 2012.

We’ve been making New Year Resolutions since as far back as the year 153 B.C. and yet, we still have trouble with them!

Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals!

Here are some of the most popular resolutions you may identify with:

Losing weight

Getting fit

Eating healthily

Quitting smoking

Reducing stress

Getting organised

Getting out of debt

All around the world, people will be making one or more of the resolutions on this list over the next few weeks.

But are Resolutions just a shopping list for the first week of January? With only a tiny percentage of people actually achieving their Resolutions, where are we going wrong?

If you want to be part of that 12% and make some big positive changes in 2012… get ready to uncover some big mistakes you might have been making…

Mistake #1 Waiting Until January 1st To Get Started

Why, if something is so important to you, would you ever want to wait to get it?

If you want it as badly as you say you do, then surely tomorrow would be too late to get started!

The 1st of January is probably the worst day ever to get started on your Resolutions.

Why?

Well, for one, a lot of people will be too hangover to even remember their own name, let alone their Resolutions!

See, when you decide what it is that you want to start to do more off, or less off, you have to be clever, and avoid postponing it until the first week of January. Why wait? Start right now. Not next week, not tomorrow, right now!

You don’t wait until you’re all sweaty and smelly to take a shower, do you? You take a shower because it is time to take a shower.

Well, it is time for a change!

Mistake #2 Starting Working On Your Resolutions When You Are Feeling Less Than Great

Not a good idea! We are all motivated to move either towards pleasure, or away from pain. Everything we do is so that we get to be happier, or so that we are not unhappy any more.

Think about your resolutions individually, and identify what drives you. For example: when it comes to exercise, some people do it because they think about how great they are going to look and feel, whilst other people do it because they can’t stand the thought of being fat or feeling unhealthy.

We often resolve to change things in our lives when we are sad, or angry… and have hit a threshold; the point of no return.

Once you’ve have reached your point of no return, that point where you are just so fed up that this is it…!

Now, you want to make it so that you look forward to doing the things you need to do.

The better you feel, the easier it will be to do the things you need to do. When we are tired, sad, in a bad mood, whatever… we don’t feel like doing anything but maybe feel sorry for ourselves. You need to be able to change your state of mind so that no matter how you feel at any given moment, you get to feel good as soon as possible! Why? Because there are things you need to get on with!

This is where NLP comes real handy. It provides the resources to allow you how to switch your state of mind in a matter of minutes, seconds even! You get to feel great, now, you are going to want to do more: exercising, eating healthily, getting organised, putting a few quid aside… everything seems easier and more enjoyable when we are feeling great!

Mistake #3 Resolve To Do Things You Don’t Really Want To Do

Most of us spend our days doing things we don’t really want to do, but we have to do. We spend most of our time doing things for other people. We have responsibilities, commitments, appointments… When it comes to Resolutions, if you want to maximize your chances for success, it needs to be about You, it needs to be about what you want to do, because, you want to do it.

This is your time to think about what matters to you.

A well formed Resolution must reflect your values. Your values are your beliefs about what is most important to you in your life. Values provide inspiration, govern your levels of motivation, and guide every decision you make. They are the standards you live by.

For example, health is my top value in life. I believe that without health nothing else can be in my life. This belief imprints everything I do. Most of the time I behave in a way as to ensure I look and feel healthy and fit, and if I ever steer away it just doesn’t feel right, so I get back on track, quickly. I will simply not accept my life any other way.

When you set goals that reflect your values, you’ll want to start taking action right now, never mind waiting until the new year!

Mistake #4 Making Wishy Washy Resolutions

It doesn’t go down well with our brain. Our brain is a piece of engineering designed to work towards targets. Just like your computer needs you to follow certain rules, your brain operates following certain rules too.

I’d love to lose weight, I gotta be more organised, I better get saving… simply doesn’t cut it. You must quit being vague, and get real specific! Your brain expects commands that are specific, and stated in an affirmative and direct manner. Anything else it doesn’t understand. We have a minimum of 60 thousand thoughts a day, how is your brain to know what is a goal and what is just a thought? It is not your brain’s job to sort out your thoughts for you, it is your job.

Mistake #5 Not Writing Down Your Resolutions Or Writing A “To Do” List

I should go to the gym more, I really need to get organised, I better start saving some money… these are just thoughts. And with over 60 thousand of them a day it’s gonna be pretty damn hard to remember them in five minutes, let alone get them done!

If it’s in your mind it’s just a thought, not a Resolution.

If you write it down on a piece of paper, then it becomes a shopping list, or a To Do list. And I know very few people who write lists of things and actually get them done! This is where the next mistake comes into play…

Stay tuned for Part II of this post, where you will discover 5 more big mistakes that have been sabotaging your New Year Resolution Success!