Resolutions that Work

By MARILYN TAM
Guest Columnist 

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. — Abraham Lincoln

Do you know where your New Year’s resolutions are? According to the Wall Street Journal, 76 percent of our New Year’s Resolutions has to do with weight and fitness. If we all lived up to those resolutions, we will be the healthiest and sportiest nation in the world instead of the fattest!

So it would be reasonable to say that many of us are not living up to what we committed to just a short time ago. How can we make sure we actually follow through on what we believe will bring us happiness and health? Take heart, you can!

I’ve learned the hard way how to use my resolutions to help me achieve my fondest goals instead of having to feel bad about how I’ve failed to complete them. There are certain things to consider before you make your resolutions to ensure that you are making ones that will actually help you attain what you are after. These rules apply to both your business and personal resolutions. Here they are:

Are your resolutions in alignment with your life purpose?

When we are living in alignment with our values, our decisions and resolutions will naturally be supported by our inner wisdom and there will be less resistance to follow through.

Be clear in what you want.

For example, instead of saying that you want to lose weight and exercise more, state how you want to feel and do. Is it to be able to climb up stairs without breathing hard? Feel healthy and have more vitality? Be confident, creative and productive in your work? Once you identify what you are truly after then you can develop the processes with more commitment towards getting there.

Take it step by step.

After you identify your big goal, list out some specific things you can do to achieve it. When you break down a huge project into manageable pieces you can make progress easier since you can see and feel rewarded by reaching the smaller milestones along the way. And remember to celebrate your mini victories and have fun on the path! We are on a life long journey with ups and downs so enjoy the wins and learn from the lessons.

Ask for help.

In partnership there is strength. Find the common benefits/reasons that will motivate others to help. If you can’t find any rationale for others to help you, maybe it’s time to rethink your goal. A goal worth pursuing will engage other people’s interests too. Share your intention with others, they may have experience and can offer guidance, contacts or information to assist you. Or they that can provide the morale support to keep you going.

Reassess your goals as you proceed; are you tracking in accordance your life purpose?

Has anything changed to influence how you should move forward? Adjust your course as you move along; like in sailing, you may have to tack at an angle to reach your destination. When you know what you are ultimately after, you can adapt as the circumstances evolve to keep you on track to achieving your goal.

Relax.

We are human, we are going to make mistakes, relapse, or at times, just plain don’t want to do what we know we should be doing. It’s ok; allow yourself the grace to be less than perfect. Pick up where you left off after a respite and resume your journey towards your goal.

Wherever you are you can start again. As long as we are alive we have another opportunity to try one more time. As Thomas Edison famously said when he was asked if he was discouraged after attempting 10,000 times to find a solution, “I have not failed, I have found 10,000 ways that don’t work.” Your life purpose and goals are meaningful, with commitment your resolutions will come to fruition, I’m rooting for you!

Quoting Ellen Goodman, “We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched.  Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.”

Marilyn’s new book, “The Happiness Choice – The Five Decisions that Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be” will be released in February 2013. Marilyn has two more books, “How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want” and “Living the Life of Your Dreams”, which won the Global Inspirational/Visionary eBook Award for 2011. Her books and work have helped numerous companies and people globally. You can get more free insights and find out about Marilyn on her website http://www.MarilynTam.com/ and connect with her on facebook.

Marilyn Tam is an international selling author, speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian and former CEO of Aveda, President of Reebok Apparel Products & Retail Group and VP of Nike and the Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation.