“New Year’s is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, friendly calls and humbug resolutions,“ the great American writer Mark Twain once opined. And it’s true; statistics confirm that almost 97 percent of New Year’s resolutions are never fulfilled.
If most people ditch their resolutions within days — sometimes in just hours, or even after they toss back that first throat-burning intoxicant — then why even participate in that annual but useless ritual?
The ritual would have some validity if folks would simply follow these tried-and-true steps:
1. Treat New Year’s resolutions like goals. While many may eventually ditch their resolutions, statistics show that setting goals is valuable. Research shows that 75 percent do make it past the first week; 46 percent make it past the six-month mark, according to statistics reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
2. There must be passion behind your resolutions. Passionless resolutions wind up being wasteful discharges of carbon dioxide out of the mouth. Waxing poetically may sound good, but that’s about all that will be good about the ordeal. “Change starts with a simple, yet powerful epiphany that comes from a very deep and personal place inside of us: ‘just can’t continue down this same road any longer,’ ” says Dr. Jim Taylor, a psychologist.
3. Write down your goals: Writing down goals, augmented by an action plan of accomplishing those goals, greatly increases your chances of success. For those who are spiritual, you will note the Scripture in Habakkuk: “Write the vision, and make [it] plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
4. Envision the goal already accomplished: Inspirational and religious leaders and life coaches all say the same thing: Take moments out of the day or week and envision that goal or goals as already manifested. Steve Covey, author of the phenomenally successful No. 1 New York Times best-seller, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, says meditate on the end result first. Which is a good segue into my next point, which is:
5. Faith that you can do it: You must believe that the goal is not only attainable but that you have the will, intelligence and qualifications to do it.
6: Disregard for failure: You must demonstrate flagrant disregard for failure or haters. Anytime an opposing thought enters the realm of your consciousness, you must rebuke it and flush it out with all deliberate speed. Do not allow negativity to marinate in your soul; it will mutate and eventually break your spirit to accomplish the mission.
–terry shropshire
