Want your resolutions to become more than broken promises to yourself?
I sure do.
I want to ACTUALLY write more, with less constraint. I want to ACTUALLY kick a few bad habits, exercise more, and eat more nutritional foods.
So what’s the secret to keeping your resolutions, if there is one?
Secrets to keeping resolutions
Routine.
Yep, that’s what everything I’ve been reading lately suggests we do, turn resolutions into habits. And that means sticking to them every day for at least 30 days to make them stick.
Old habits die hard and new ones are hard to birth.
Translation:
In order to make your resolutions stick, you have to make them an integral part of your life.
Be realistic, but whatever you decide to do, do it every day. In small steps.
- New diet? One day at a time, one meal at a time, one bite at a time.
- Writing? Decide what you’re going to write and when. Then do it. Every day. (Preferably at the same time, in the same place.) No exceptions.
- Exercise: Pick an exercise. Pick a spot. Pick a time. Then do it. Every day!
Need I go on?
Routine. Routine. Routine.
You can do it!
I can do it!
We can do it!
Soon I’ll share my BIG writing ambitions for the year ahead. I should be an authority by then. I’ll have starting making them part of my life for two full days by then.
Good luck with integrating all those new habits into your life!
Routine is probably a very good idea. I've set myself 11 goals for 2011 and if I do put some routine into them, they are probably all achievable.
Wishing you lots of luck with yours. I'm looking forward to reading what they are on Monday :0)
Thanks Rebecca. I'm going to turn the computer off soon and get to work on one of my first resolutions, to write in my journal (using some of the sources I mention on Monday for inspiration).
You're absolutely right, Margaret. Unless we make our new behaviors part of our daily lives, they'll remain pie-in-the-sky resolutions, and it will be same old same old. "Another year's resolutions down the drain, oh well, I'll try again next year."
— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
Hi Kay. I'm already trying to start new habits today, though I'm only concentrating on two of my goals/resolutions for a start. Baby steps, one day at a time, stay in the moment… 30 days to form a new habit. Oh my.
Hi Margaret, My New Year's resolutions are:
1. To continue writing
2. To explore new opportunities in writing
3. To seriously get down to the business of writing a book
Looks like it will be a 'writing year' but nothing could be better. bernadine
Hello Bernadine. I agree, nothing is better than a writing year. Many of your resolutions mirror mine. May we both be successful in our endeavours.
Thank you Margaret, My best to you too. bernadine
Good post and wonderful ambition. You can do it! I can do it! We can do it!
Have a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!!
Hi Judy. Here's to making our new year resolutions an integral part of our lives.
No resolutions for me. I make small goals that will feed into a larger year-end goal. I've found that when I did make the BIG resolution, I fell on my tushy and wasn't great at brushing myself off….Have a great new year!
Hi Tonya. Small goals that will feed into a larger year-end goal sounds smart and doable. Today marks day three for me and my new goals. So far, so good. Here's to our success no matter what paths we take.