Saturday, December 31, 2011

Real easy solutions for habitual Resolution-Breakers



Few more hours to go before the New Year and many of us should be busy finalizing the resolution list. Except that there is a problem with my resolutions every year – I find it extremely difficult to keep them beyond 7th of January.

Determined to get it right this time, I have been trawling the net for those secret ingredients to keep resolutions real and lasting (more like 7 months). I have also taken time to reflect on my slip-ups (my walking challenge) and occasional successes (this blog) with resolutions.

I was on a quest to find out if there is a secret formula to make the resolutions successful. Though what I found during my research, kind of surprised me.  Whilst there is no precise formula, it looks like there are a number of simple steps you could follow to improve your chances of winning. Most of them are common sense stuff, though there are few odd counter-intuitive tips as well.

1.      Start – Surely this is the easiest thing to do. Make sure you do it
2.      Keep it real – Overnight success are stuff of movies, be true to yourself
3.      Keep it a secret – Do not publicize your goals before you even start – apparently your brain  interprets it as an achievement of the goal and affects your motivation to actually achieving the goal
4.      Celebrate Success – Positive reinforcement works like magic, make sure you celebrate every milestone
5.      Buddy-Up – Look around you and identify a source of encouragement and feedback – for that occasional push and to pull you out of the drenches when required
6.      Start Again – Expect to go off-track every so often, but important thing is to re-start
7.      Mix-it-Up – Variety, they say is the spice of life and indeed is at the heart of keeping your resolution routine interesting.

My resolution for this year then – well, that’s a secret. 


Image courtesy: Corbis.com

9 comments:

  1. A nice and useful post on Tips to make resolutions successful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You can count on me for the occasional push and pull. That's provided you let me know your resolutions !!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SaiBaba - thank you very much for stopping by ..

    ReplyDelete
  4. I too was pondering over the possibility of keeping the resolutions intact, or at least writing about resolutions that are usually forgotten. Here you have a whole set of solutions for not abandoning the new year resolutions..WOW! Loved it. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. nice post...

    a check list for maintaining the resolutions...

    i have one more point to add - Keep saying to yourself. It will become a habit...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anu - thanks .. how have you been keeping up with your resolutions? I have a wonderful excuse of having guests at home :D

    Karthick - Yes forgot about that .. thanks for adding on !!

    ReplyDelete
  7. A good post to start the new year! :)
    So nicely written! :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks aakriti .. happy new year to you ..

    ReplyDelete
  9. I am late to comment on this post.. Visual Design of that picture is good :)

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...