Resolutions Aren’t Just For New Years
It’s the time of year when people make New Year’s resolutions. Pegasus home care professionals in Los Angeles and elsewhere suggest not stopping in January. They offer these tips for making resolutions throughout the year.
Statistically, fewer than half of people are able to keep their New Year’s resolutions. How can you place yourself in the successful half? Start with preparing yourself to make a change.
Spend time considering what you accomplished during the past year. Build on last year’s successes in the coming year. Changes are best made slowly and incrementally.
Resolutions usually involve lifestyle changes. For many, that’s vows like lose weight, exercise more, and similar changes. Nothing wrong with those or others aimed at doing better and being better.
Setting Goals Helps You Keep Your Resolutions
The problem is that those promises to yourself tend to show up year after year. This year, try formulating them as goals. Resolutions are often open-ended with a lot of wiggle room and loopholes.
Goals are more specific. You feel more motivated to take action and bring a goal to fruition. That’s because when you’re setting goals, you:
- Know what you want to achieve
- Know why achieving it is important
- Know the steps you need to achieve it
Setting your resolutions as goals enables you to make promises you can keep. Try to not have more than three or four goals at a time. Monitor your progress and give yourself rewards for your achievements.
You should be able to describe your goal. If you can’t describe your goal in specific terms, how do you know what it is? And how will you know that you accomplished it?
When you set a goal and list the steps you need to take to achieve it, each step is a mini-goal. As each mini-goal is achieved, you have the opportunity to review your progress. If necessary, you can modify your steps.
Your resolutions or goals should always be something important to you. Avoid resolving to take action because someone else says you should. Resolutions are a personal matter.
Choose something that’s a bit of a challenge, but doable if you put forth the effort. You can do anything for one day, then for one week, one month, a year. Sticking to your resolution today will help you stick to it tomorrow and ultimately for the rest of your life.
Try to make your goal something positive. You have more success trying to do something than you have trying not to do something. Remember that trick of how telling someone to not think about a carrot made them think about a carrot?
For example, a frequent resolution is something like “be a better person.” You aren’t a bad person, even if you have a bad habit or two. Instead, set a goal such as “I will listen when others speak.”
The intent of that goal is to correct your habit of interrupting others. It’s an important goal to achieve because it will make you a more pleasant person to be around. You’ll know you have achieved it when you enjoy conversations with others.
Don’t Limit Yourself to New Years
Making resolutions doesn’t need to stop with New Year’s. Many people increase their chances of success when they make resolutions throughout the year. Periodic new resolutions eliminate feeling overwhelmed by making many at one time.
Some individuals establish quarterly timelines and make new resolutions at the start of each three-month period. Knowing they will start a new goal the next quarter energizes them. They don’t get bogged down or bored.
You can also use dates that are significant to you. These include birthdays, anniversaries, or special dates. An interim time to start anew is what is essential.
Research shows that keeping your resolutions dwindles monthly. The solution: Make a new resolution on the first day of each month. You’ll have a dozen fresh chances to keep your promises.
These by nature will be short-term mini-goals. Even so, establish the steps you need to accomplish them. Monitor your progress and reward yourself for each achievement.
Want more chances to start over? Monday mini-resolutions are for you. Monday resolutions offer frequent small successes. Experts have discovered each success helps individuals keep making positive choices.
Make Yourself Accountable
You’re on your way to success when you’ve turned your resolutions into goals. You’ve established what you need to accomplish each, and you’ve set a timeline. However, two more actions are necessary.
It’s essential to write down your resolutions, even if you’re making new ones throughout the year. Putting goals in writing reinforces them. It also makes you more aware of the steps needed to achieve them.
Many people increase their chances of success by telling someone about their resolutions. Making yourself accountable to another keeps you motivated. Just make sure your confidant is someone who will encourage you to keep trying if you fall short.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. Our comprehensive home care services in Los Angeles and our other locations are designed to meet all your needs. And yes, that can include encouraging you to keep your New Year’s resolutions all year long.
