The bubbly has been popped, the confetti has fell & if you're lucky you got a nice smooch at the stroke of midnight. You close your eyes tight & tell yourself "Self, this year is going to be different". You're going to get up an hour earlier so you can go to the gym in the morning before work, you're going to finish that screenplay you started 2 years ago, you're going to set aside 20% of your net pay into your savings each month, you're even going to ask for that promotion you know you deserve.
You're going to succeed. You're going to be the best you that you can possibly be & this WILL be the best year of your life.
Flash forward to a week later & you have fallen right back into the same routine that plagued you the year before. You let your gym membership lapse, you spend that 20% that could have went into your savings on fast food, happy hour 3 times a week, crap at Target you don't need & lottery tickets whenever the jackpot (along with your chances of winning) spikes to some ridiculous high. You make no attempts at work to be promoted thus causing you to once again wallow for another year in a position you detest for mere peanuts, & screenplay, please, you're lucky if you go to a matinee every now & then. Then to rationalize your failure to try you tell yourself....things could be worse.
No ! Things could be better ! So much better !
I have seen soooo many people complain about not making resolutions for the new year because "they never work". The problem people fail to understand is the old saying holds true. You can be ANYTHING you want to be, you just have to be prepared to put in the grunt work. The blood, sweat & tears. Folks are afraid of the sacrifice & struggle (yes, there will be a struggle) in achieving a dream. There will be days when you want to quit, times you will second guess yourself & try to convince yourself that this is not really what you want. Days when you tell yourself "I'll just try again later".
These are hurdles. This is when you need to get your Jesse Owens on & leap over the negativity.
Here are 3 tips to making your new years resolutions apart of your everyday routine from now on:
1) When the going gets tough, the tough gets to remembering.
When payday comes & you spy that extra $200 that doesn't have to go to a bill, groceries or gas & instead of putting it aside into your savings you contemplate going out for a much deserved dinner at Ruth Chris, or buying those Stella McCartney boots that Neiman's has on sale, play the "I remember when..." game. Think back to that day at the gas pump when you were down to your last $20 & you had to decide how to get gas & dinner, remember when dinner for 2 days had to consist of top ramen & slightly sour OJ. Remember when you had to sit through another lecture from your mom about "the importance of being frugal" when you needed to borrow $50 until payday. Just remind yourself how the more you save monthly means the less your chance of being in one of those scenarios if even at all. The same goes for the gym. When the alarm goes off at 5:00 am & you just want to say screw that workout in turn for another hour of sleep remember that picture of you from last 4th of July where EVERYONE thought you were pregnant & you weren't.
2.) Be your own life coach.
When it comes to fixing your life no one knows what you need more than you do. Sure other folks can give you pep talks & give reasons why you should stick to your resolutions but only YOU know for certain how crappy your current predicament is & why this change is so important. Sure others may look at you & think you don't really need to lose weight & you don't really look bad, but you know first hand how you struggled the other day getting to your 3rd floor office suite when the elevator was out & how you almost said "to hell with it" & went back to your car to call off for the day. No one knows how bad changes are needed like you. Be your own coach. Yell at yourself when no one is around ! Kick your own self in the rear when you start to wind down ! Encourage yourself to keep the momentum going.
3.) Track your progress
When you were a kid you were taught how to make pie charts & graphs, tools that showed where you were currently, & where you should be. Pull out the construction paper, markers & rulers & get to graphing ! Nothing helps you succeed better than actually seeing your success. When you can look at your progress on paper after a month of consistency & see your advancement it encourages you & motivates you to do better. Before you know it your are beating current goals & feeling great about yourself. Whether it's having an extra $100 in the bank past projection to having lost 3 inches instead of 1, that ego boost is encouraging & the end result will be priceless.
With these simple tools to new years resolution success along with hard work, prayer & self confidence you will end the year much more successful ! Happy New Year everybody !
XoXo
Shae Camille
No comments:
Post a Comment