A New Year Brings A New You

Traditionally people make New Years resolutions at the start of the year. Many experts say this isn't a good idea, because most resolutions are either broken or forgotten by the end of Jan. They say it's better to focus on making attainable goals that you can actually follow and keep. You know... write it down, break it up into measurable chunks, and commit to following through. I guess the point is that most people who make resolutions just come up with broad statements like, Make more money, Increase sales, Lose weight... not measurable, so they don't follow through. But I don't believe you have to make this into a big production if you don't want to. If your mind resists writing it down and taking an analytical approach, then don't do it, because you're setting yourself up for failure even more than the resolution-breakers. Just make your resolutions a little more concrete, like Increase salary by 25%, Make $1000 more in sales per month, or Lose 10 pounds. You get the idea. In fact, any time of year is a great time to make a resolution to better yourself, but since this happens to be a new year, lets take advantage of the new year to develop a new you. Maybe you're already comfortable with yourself, and where you are in life. But your comfort zone is equal to your success zone... so being comfortable will keep you stagnated, and you can't improve. You have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone, act in spite of being scared or worried, and do things that move you forward in order to truly become a success. And there is no staying the same, because the world moves on without you... so by not moving forward, you're actually moving backwards. Many of the success experts I've studied use the example of a house plant, and say if you're not growing, you're withering, or dying. Others say if you're not evolving, you're de-evolving. So why not take this opportunity to figure out if you're evolving or not. If you find that you're in a rut, and hence moving backwards, then maybe it's time to make a resolution to yourself to make 2006 your most successful year yet. Don't set yourself up for failure by picking goals you can't achieve. Sure, you should reach for the stars, and you might get the moon... but you have to feel in your heart that you CAN achieve your goal, that you DESERVE to achieve your goal, and that you WILL achieve your goal. If you don't feel those things, you won't achieve it. In other words... whether you think you can or you can't... you're right. One of the most important things to remember is that you don't have to be successful to be happy... you have to be happy to be successful. And another is that success is a journey, not a destination. So if you pick a goal that allows you to be happy on the journey, as you're working your way towards a certain outcome, then you're sure to get there. And once you do, there's another goal beyond that one that will launch you on a continuing journey towards bigger achievements. Because that one goal is not success, it's a stepping stone on the path of success that you take on your journey. Happy 2006... and happy trails!