So, what is the best way to do this? Today,
I have 5 steps for you on how to make a new year's resolution and keep it.
There's actually some really practical things that you can do about this so let's talk about
what you need to be very clear about and then I'll give you a powerful creation tip right at the end.
As Simon Sinek says, "Let's start with why." Why do you want to set these resolutions in the first
place? And really, get past the superficial phony stuff. That's not going to sustain your efforts.
Everybody knows they're supposed to set resolutions, right? Maybe you've even done
this before. Well, how's it going? If you don't have a strong enough why, you won't be able to
keep up all of the difficult Hows. So, get clear about your why let's go past the surface and get
down to why do you really want to do this in the first place. Does this change your life in ways
that you want to change your life not just ways that you think you should? Get clear about the
why. After you've gotten really clear about your reasons for doing this, there's another
powerful thing that you can do that involves other people in your life. Psychologically,
you will do more for someone else than you'll do for yourself. This is pretty typical. And it's a
clue to how you're going to hold yourself accountable for keeping your new year's
resolutions. So, get clear about who gets to benefit from the positive changes that you've just
promised yourself you're going to make. For all of those good reasons, who gets to benefit from this?
Sure, it benefits you. But what about your family? What about your coworkers? Your employer? Your
clients? Who else will benefit from your positive changes. Once you get clear about that, it's going
to be a whole lot easier to keep yourself going because you're not doing it for you,
you're doing it for them. The next step is to get clear about the when. Yes, I know this year,
right? Because it's a resolution it still needs to fit somewhere on your actual calendar
in what I call a now. And I'll define that in the next step. But there's another aspect of this that
I think deserves some intention. I call this reasons and seasons. There are reasons that we
give ourselves for not doing certain things. And you can probably come up with 10 or 15 reasons
to not do what you've set a resolution to do. All you need is one good reason. That's why
we focused on the why. But what about seasons? There are different seasons in your life. I do
a lot of training of life coaches and parenting coaches. And we have this conversation all the
time. If you're in a season of life for example where you have a lot of young children at home,
that's very different from my current season where all of my children are grown.
They're off doing their own thing now. Those are different seasons and the demands on your time
or your availability are going to shift and flex depending on the seasons of your life.
Here's what I'd say about that: "Honor the seasons of your life but don't let the reasons
become excuses." Obviously, if we want to make and keep our resolutions, an important step would be
to get clear about how we're going to do that. And one of the biggest mistakes that we make
as human beings is saying that we're going to do something without identifying the time
or the place or the way that we're going to do it. So, here's a little tip. Put it in a now.
You can't do everything right now. But anytime you do something,
it is now. I like to define now as having a start time and an end time and a very specific task in
between. So, whatever it is that we tell ourselves we're going to do... Let's say that you have a new
year's resolution to go to the gym more. Okay, first of all, that's a little vague. Let's get a
little more clear. How much more are you talking? 2 times a week? Are you talking 3 times a week?
Get clear about that because then we're going to decide when those 2 times a week would be.
Maybe it's every Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 P.M. Right after I get off work, I'm going to the gym.
Okay? Do you see how that's a lot more specific? For me, basketball is how I like to stay in shape.
And I play 3 times a week --every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6 o'clock in the
morning. Do you see how specific that is? Define a now and now has a start time and an end time
and a very specific task in between that's related specifically to your resolution,
to your goal. This is how we're going to get it done. In addition to the now, we have to
get clear about what it is that we're going to put between the start time and the end time. And what
that is is your next physical step. Get in shape (for example) is not a next physical step. Call
the gym or buy a membership or show up can be a next physical step because it's something that
you can actually do between the start time and the end time. So, identify your next physical step.
Let's share some examples with each other about what that is. What is your next physical step
on one of your main goals or your resolutions for this next year? Put it in the comments. Let's
share what some of those next physical steps could be. Everything that's created is created first
mentally, psychologically. You have to imagine something before you can actually make it.
This is true of everything that surrounds you in the room right now.
It's also true of all those positive changes that you're promising yourself to make. So,
take your new year's resolution and envision yourself. When I say envision, you have to see
yourself doing it. Here, in your mind. You have to see it here before it's going to manifest out
there. So, see yourself on the other side of this. Just take a moment to imagine. What it's going
to look like? What it'll sound like? How it will feel? Put yourself in the mental mode that you can
realize this first in your mind. And that will give you the power to actually follow through.
Keep those resolutions and create some really positive outcomes. Something I didn't really
mention in the video is that you might want some kind of a plan for ongoing maintenance
of your new year's resolutions. So, it's not just a January thing. Come join Live On Purpose Central
where you can engage with others who are doing the same thing. And we can support
you with some important resources. Go.liveonpurposecentral.com.