The New Year brings the opportunity for change. For many of us, it’s the time to think about resolutions. Often these resolutions are the same ones that we make every year or the ones we only stick to for a few weeks.
If you have ever struggled to keep your New Year’s resolutions, consider that your goals and the strategies you have in place to achieve them may not be serving you best.
Resolution is defined as, “the process of reducing to simpler form,” which brings us to the paradox of resolutions: Instead of simplifying our lives, we wind up dumping more tasks, goals or projects on our “to-do list,” thinking that by achieving more, our lives will be more fulfilling and successful in the New Year.
To make and keep your resolutions with the least amount of effort, follow these 10 resolutions that will enable you to maximize your potential and manage your life.
1. Quit Tolerating. To attract new and better opportunities and results, first clear out what’s clogging up your life to create the space for the better stuff to show up. List the things you’re putting up with that limit productivity, cause stress and waste time and energy. Then determine what needs to happen to eliminate these tolerances. If you no longer accept being dragged down by unwanted events, problems or other people’s behavior, you’ll stop wasting time managing situations that shouldn’t be there anyway.
2. Play Your Game. The best game to play is the one where you make up your own rules. If you’re encountering resistance in reaching some goals, chances are it’s something you really don’t want to be doing. Take the time to discover what you truly want by aligning your goals with your priorities.
3. Create A Winning Routine. Busy with tasks that consume you? Feel that you’re fighting the clock? Design a weekly routine that complements your goals so you can focus on the activities that support your objectives and enhance your lifestyle. Develop a healthier relationship with time by underpromising on personal/professional deadlines so that time becomes your ally instead of your adversary. To develop a highly effective routine, get organized, eliminate distractions, reduce stress and manage your tasks in order to reach and exceed your goals.
4. Have Fun. Let’s face it; this isn’t our practice life. Are you doing the things that bring you the most joy? Find time every day that’s yours. Shift your binoculars around to magnify your achievements rather than what you didn’t do.
5. Deepen Your Learning. While we attract what we need to learn, we often resist the lessons. If similar problems keep reappearing, we missed the lesson. To accelerate success, learn from every experience and person in order to grow and move onto a new and better path.
6. Expand Your Vision. What does your ideal life look like? The fact is, we never grow past what we feel is possible. Let go of the current perceptions inhibiting your ability to explore greater possibilities and achieve more. Clarify what success looks like in every area of your life (career, relationships, health, environment, etc.). It’s easier to create something great when you know exactly what you’re looking for.
7. Transcend Your Beliefs. The Korean War Veterans Memorial says, “Freedom is not free.” This holds true for our thoughts as well. Old limiting beliefs often keep us prisoner, preventing us from creating greater successes. Your outlook determines your outcome. So if you believe, “The past is responsible for the quality of my life today,” “Success requires sacrifice,” or “This is as good as it gets,” consider challenging these assumptions and replacing them with healthier ones that would better serve you. Upgrade and direct your beliefs without letting them control you.
8. Do Complete Work. You don’t have to achieve every resolution at once. Instead of stopping and starting something, pick one thing you want to change, create or finish, and commit to seeing it through to completion. Then move on to the next project. Otherwise, consider that you may be an adrenaline junkie and love the rush associated when working on overdrive. To prevent sporadic results and a pile of unfinished projects, get off the adrenaline train and start creating the momentum to produce consistent, long-lasting results.
9. Focus On the Present. Although planning for the New Year is productive, during our quest to achieve more we often lose sight of what is occurring today, preventing us from enjoying the hidden gifts or treasures that are already present in our lives. Keep focused on what is occurring now as opposed to what happened yesterday or what will be in the future. Live for today while planning for tomorrow.
10. Fear Less. Every year we want more but fear prevents us from taking risks, so we continually produce similar results. Since fear is the negative assumption of the outcome, shift your focus towards the positive outcome or what you do want to manifest, instead of what you are looking to avoid. u
The author is president of Profit Builders, a business consulting firm. He is also the author of Time Management for Sales Professionals and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Cold Calling, the latter of which has made it to the Top 50 Best Seller List on www.amazon.com. Reach him at 888/262-2450 or info@profitbuilders.com.