2011

Tips To Reach Your New Goals
It's unbelievable to me that 2010 is dead and gone.   This time of year always makes me a bit reflective, wondering what this next year will hold and thinking about the previous one. I guess maybe it's the need   to improve and fix ourselves.  We make resolutions and sometimes it's not even a month when they are blown out of the water, and  we sit there wondering what in the world happened.  According to statistics half  of our goals and resolutions won't make it more than six months, but hey don't give up that still leaves  50% of them that reach success.  So what do we do to ensure  we are in the successful 50%, becoming one of those who actually kept our resolutions and  reached our goals?  
Here are a few simple tips: 
1. Know yourself and be realistic --  Let's face it we all have things about our personal appearance that we think needs "fixed".   If we are overweight we want to loose a pound or two,  if we are skinny we want to gain a pound a two (lucky dogs) and so the list goes.  If you want to bring about a change make it one that you can realistically do.  If your unsure ask the people that really know you....not your twitter  and online friends but your real life ones who know the REAL you.    
2.  Make plans for success --  Come up with some concrete plans and even make  lists to help you out.   For example say you want to exercise more,  this is a great goal but you need to plan.   Know your body, it's limits, and set realistic goals.  You also need to decide how your going to get into shape.   Are you going to walk, jog, or join a gym.   Again all these take planning and maybe even some new equipment.   So plan! plan! plan!   Put it on paper.   Can you tell yet that I'm a list maker.. ; )   
3. Plan for temptations or roadblocks -- All of us are going to hit stumbling blocks  so we need to come up with a plan to fight them.   How are you going to deal with the temptation of not walking that mile when it's 30 degrees outside or when you are just worn out from work or class?   Come up with something to tackle it.   It could be something as simple as a call to a friend for positive feedback or maybe it's self talk or even a little reward for pushing through the temptation.   
4.  Pros and Cons -- Make a list of  the reasons why you should continue to reach your goal and a list of consequences if you don't.   Some goals of course have harsher consequences....ie smoking has a pretty heavy consequence if you continue.  Spell these out and quit burying your head in the sand.  ( I'm using self talk here)   
5.  Get it out there -- This one is simple, talk about your goals and changes you want to achieve.  Tell your friends and family.  Ask them to help with motivation and to keep your "feet to the fire"  so to speak.
6.  Reward yourself -- Give yourself rewards for keeping your focus and  motivation.  Make them small rewards within short increments of time.   This will help with your motivation, and you can set predetermined success points within the overall time frame.  You know what you are going to need to keep  going.   Are you someone who needs a lot of motivation?  If so set up weekly goals and rewards. Of course don't give yourself rewards that are going to sabotage  your main goal. Make it something that will motivate you even more!  
7.  When you slip -- Don't beat yourself up when you mess up .   We are all going to do it one time or another so look at what happened,  what didn't work with your temptation plan and then get back to work.   Don't give up just because you slipped.  Don't eat an entire gallon of ice cream because you slipped and had an ice cream cone.  Just put down the spoon and walk away....; )  
8.  Keep at it -- Consider it takes 21 days to form new habits so you have to be patient and you have to make it a part of the new and improved YOU.  Give it a chance to become part of who you are and your daily life.   
9. Try, try again -- If you totally blow your goals and bulldoze through your plans, don't give up. Start over, make adjustments for what worked and what didn't then get back to the goal you set.   Remember resolutions just aren't for January.       
Hope these tips help out.  Good luck and definitely feel free to contact me and make me one of your motivators.  I'm great at teamwork!