Happy New Year! I am sure you have heard it many times over the last week or so and will continue to hear for another. When is it not a New Year? Have you been asked about your resolutions for this year? Are they much different from last year? Well, it doesn’t matter. Once you have made the new resolution a habit, it is no longer the “new year”.
It takes 10,000 hours of practice to make it a habit (or something like that). So keep on doing the things you planned to do this year for another few months to make it a habit. Some of the most proven techniques to keep us on our task include tracking and sharing your goals.
Tracking keeps you honest to yourself. Every day you track your activity or intake it is a reminder of your goals to yourself. It also makes you think twice about skipping a workout or consuming empty calories. Track it! Use paper, a spreadsheet or an app. Doesn’t matter how, just do it. The system that makes it easy for you to use is the best one for you.
Share your goals with your loved ones. Once you have made your goals known to others, your commitment to the goals is more. You can even ask those who you share with to be your gentle reminders. Ask him/her to be there in your moment of weakness. When you hesitate to go for the run, they will push you. When you are tempted by a dessert or another glass of wine, they will give you a gentle nudge not to give in. You will have a partner in your dreams.
One of my goals this year is to be thankful. To help me remind of all the things I am thankful for I created a “Gratitude Jar”. I decorated a large glass jar with a ribbon and stickers, put some cut-up colored paper and pen in it and set it by my bedside. I plan to jot down something I am grateful for everyday. I made a similar jar for each member of the family. We plan to read our notes at the next new year’s eve together. So far I already have several notes in my jar.
Share your goals and get help to hold yourself accountable.