It’s December, and many of us will be getting ready for our annual New Year resolution ‘ritual’. But wait a minute! How many of the ones you have made in the past have you succeeded in following through?
For most people, it is most times, a pointless exercise. We break them, become discouraged in the process and finally more disheartened than we were before.
Having New Year resolution(s) in its self is not bad, but becoming a professional failure in achieving them is what makes it a waste of time. It is said that doing the same thing, same way over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of folly.
So how can you make your 2012 resolution successful?
• Adopt A Lifestyle Of Purpose. Success in anything (including New Year resolutions) is 90% why and 10% how. Purpose transcends goals; it’s the bigger picture- the ultimate destination which therefore encompasses your goals. Resolutions fail if they are not genuinely motivated.
For example, if your New Year resolution is to stop smoking, then you must be convinced of the benefits of stopping, the ‘why’. This could be to enjoy a healthy life, live long to enjoy my children, eradicate the risk of a dear family member dying from secondary smoke.
(This is cigarette smoke that non smokers inhale from near-by smokers. Children, whose parents smoke constantly, develop more respiratory problems than others).
The emotional trauma of knowing the effect of your bad habit would most likely empower you to follow through your New Year resolution. “When there’s a fire in your belly you can do the impossible.” If it doesn’t mean that much to you, you most likely won’t give it your all.
• Have A Right Attitude. Becoming the new you will be a process. Whether adopting a positive habit or getting rid of a negative one, either will take as much effort. Robert Kiyosaki wrote in one of his books,
‘The Business of The 21st Century’, “Each of us has a winner and a loser inside of us. The reason most people ‘just get by’, instead of truly succeeding in life, is that they let the loser inside them dominate...Every morning I make that choice: who gets up this morning, the winner or the loser? That’s our battle”
There most likely will be days when you fail. That does not make you a loser; you become a loser when you give up the whole program because of that one...or two glitches. A couple of weeks ago I decided to resume my morning run after about six weeks break. I had been out of the country for that period.
The first day, as I walked into zero degree weather, a million and one reasons of why not to bother ran through my mind. Those reasons were even more convincing when a woman jokingly shouted at me as I ran past her, “you are mad to run in this weather!”
I purpose to run at least three times a day, but I can tell you that, that has been hard to keep to. In fact, I will not be able to run at all for a couple of weeks because I have hurt my back. But I understand the power of a right attitude to achieving my ultimate purpose, and so no doubt, the winner in me will be back out there, no matter the temperature ASAP!
... To be continued
... To be continued
Gbonju is a UK based certified professional Personal/Small Business Performance Coach, trainer and International Speaker. She qualifies through the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD) and the Coaching Academy. For more information on how you or your organisation can benefit from her services, visit www.peakpeopledevelopers.com or email gbonju@peakpeopledevelopers.com
Edited By: GABRIELLA OSAMOR
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