New Year... New Beginnings...
New Year Beginnings… Make this year THE Year! Ahh… the New Year approaches. In this article, Made You Smile Back will look at what type of motivation is needed to make them stick this time around. Why not make this year THE year and jump start your commitment to make a plan to discard your bad habits and ways.
Make this year THE year to establish new habits and behaviors that benefit you in every way. Make this year THE year to grow emotionally, physically, intellectually and socially.
The 1st Step to Making This Year The Year!
Write it down!
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In order to make sure that this year is going to be THE Year, you obviously have to start with ‘writing it down’! Instead of writing just what you want to accomplish, try to state it whereby you’re ‘replacing one bad habit or behavior’ with a ‘new and improved habit’.
For example, instead of just stating the obvious, “I want to lose 20 pounds this year”, why not try the following instead:
"Next year in order to lose 20 pounds, I shall Get Up 1 Hour Earlier Each Morning and Work Out 60 minutes."
As another example, instead of stating “I want to drink more water this year”, try the following:
"I shall Eliminate Drinking Soda and Diet Soda and replace it with drinking Water Instead."
So… in summary for step one, keep writing until you have clearly stated each one of your goals. But in so doing, identify the bad habit you wish to eliminate and then determine your new replacement ‘goal’ or ‘habit’. This subtle shift in thinking will end up having a major impact in actually reaching your goals for the next year.
Keep writing!
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The 2nd Step to Making This Year The Year!
Follow The Ancient Rule of 21 and 90!
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Have you heard of the ancient 21/90 rule? Do you want to know the secret to creating successful and healthy habits for the upcoming new year? Make this year THE year by firmly establishing each newly declared habit by following these instructions.
Its clear. It takes 21 days to create a habit. It takes 90 days to create a lifestyle.
But there is one very important caveat to this sage advice. It MUST BE CONSECUTIVE DAYS! You heard me.
If you regress even one day during the 21 day cycle or the 90 day cycle, in order to re-establish the habit from coming undone, you must GO BACK AND REPEAT from Day One in order to be truly successful. You cannot afford to ‘break the chain’.
If you want to make this year THE year, you have to abide by these rules! (You got this!)
The 3rd Step to Making This Year The Year!
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A fundamental principle of psychology is “If you can measure it, you can change it”. By documenting your progress, this shall be an added source of motivation of knowing where you started and where you’re going.
The 4th Step to Making This Year The Year!
The 4th step to making this year THE year involves recognizing that sometimes, slow and steady wins the race. You must be patient with yourself. Set yourself up for huge successful wins in reaching each benchmark in your progress. Remember, be the turtle, not the rabbit! You must maintain a sustainable pace.
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The 5th Step to Making This Year The Year!
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Psychologist Dr. Paul Marciano is the author of Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work. He is known for his area of expertise in behavior modification and achieving your goals. He believes that achieving your goals isn’t about willpower.
Instead, it is about developing the right skill sets, executing winning strategies and having that patience we talked about earlier that will inevitably lead to success.
So the next time, you have a momentary lapse or a slip up, remember what Marlon Brando said: “Every time you get knocked down, you get up stronger.”
The 6th Step to Making This Year The Year!
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There’s an old saying that goes, “The most important thing is to remember the most important thing.” In your quest to make this coming year THE year you reach your goals, always keep this in mind.
It’s important also to reward yourself when reaching bench-marks towards your goal. And of course, when you do reach your final destination (and yes, you will this year), it is even more vital to celebrate your victory!
Be nice to yourself. Do something special to cherish and reflect the time, effort and struggle you put into reaching your goal(s). Shout it to the world or silently smile back to yourself knowing you did it! You really really did it!
New Year Beginnings - Make This Year THE Year
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What are YOUR New Year’s Resolutions? Share them in the comment section below and DON’T FORGET TO SUBSCRIBE!
Here’s to Having Your Best Year Ever!
Happy New Year Everyone! Please share any resolutions or insights you may have!
Hi Beth,
I just “Committed” myself and the whole Fam Damily to becoming mortgage free in five years.
Wish me luck!
Im confident you will reach your goal Anna!
Great advice included here! I totally agree with writing down your goals. I’m a fan of vision boards to help myself articulate what I want and to keep my goals in front of me all year long!
Amanda, thanks so much for your insightful comments.
LOVE this post, definitely motivated to start writing my goals and how I’m going to reach them. Thank you for being such an inspiration
Thank you for your kind words. Happy New Year to You!
Great post – love the 21/90 reminder…and being consecutive about it! News to me!
Deborah, thanks for your comment. It takes a little while to be disciplined with the 21 consecutive day rule, but it truly works if you put intentional focus with it!