From a Galaxy Far, Far Away...

As you begin this new year, let's take a moment to look back, way back, to a time when you had dreams and goals and excitement about reaching them. It may seem far away in the past. It may seem like they've been left in a galaxy far, far away...unreachable.

Today, I encourage you to dust off those dreams. A new year is a brand new opportunity to begin again. It's a great time to leave the past disappointments, the past broken promises, the past failures, all those broken New Year's resolutions right where they belong. In the past.

Some of us begin each new year with a list of resolutions. One of my long-time favorites is: I will lose weight this year! As you can imagine, before the first 30 days are up, I've reverted back to my old habits. So, this year, I decided to trick myself, to not wait until January 1st to make that resolution, but to begin working toward it in November, the day after Thanksgiving. That's right. Black Friday. There could be no better name for the day I began working out than that.

It all started when I learned how to use the Wii. The Wii Fit Plus to be exact. The cool thing was, I decided to trick myself into thinking this was 'just for fun.' I knew if I could keep myself thinking it was fun, I was more apt to use it and thus to get in shape and, even possibly, lose a little weight.

If you've ever used a Wii Fit, you know that, once you've created your Mii character, you then step up on the board and it weighs you. And it did. There was no lying to the thing. Immediately, my little Mii became a slightly bigger Mii. (Okay, I was being kind. It was more than 'slightly.' Oh, so much more!) And that was motivation enough. Now I'm on a mission to make my Mii thinner. And the only way to do that is to make this 'me' thinner. So, for me, this is what 2012 holds.

Of course, there are other goals I've resolved to accomplish. I want to grow personally and professionally and help others do the same. I want to move past my big 'buts' (those things that are holding me back). And, the cool thing is, I know I can.

What's even better is, I know YOU can. Whether you make a New Year's resolution or not, I encourage you to use this new beginning to begin anew. To dust off those dreams, those goals. To reach into that galaxy far, far away and resolve to live your best life, right now

I wish you a very happy, very successful new beginning. Today is yours. Make it so.

Jean

Making the New Year's Resolutions Work

According to usa.gov, these are some New Year’s resolutions that are popular year after year:

Drink Less Alcohol
Get a Better Education
Get a Better Job
Get Fit
Lose Weight
Manage Debt
Manage Stress
Quit Smoking Now
Save Money
Take a Trip
Volunteer to Help Others

When thinking about your New Year’s resolutions from past years, do any of these sound familiar? They certainly do to me! Topping my list, almost every year, has been losing weight. Each year I begin with high hopes and by the end of that year, I’m sadly disappointed, wondering where all that January 1st willpower went. Have you ever felt that way? Good, then I’m not the only one! Seriously, I think we’ve all felt that way, those of us who have made resolutions and haven’t kept them.

It’s so easy to resolve to be become better and often difficult to follow through. This year, I’ve assessed my own situation. And I believe I’ve found a solution. Now, time will tell. When 2011 comes to a close, I’ll know for sure if this works. In the meantime, I’ll share with you my thoughts on why my New Year’s resolutions haven’t always worked and what I’m doing differently this year to make them a reality.

Let’s take the weight loss thing. It’s a pretty popular resolution, probably because over 66% of Americans are overweight. We’re all in this together, whether you have 5lbs or 50 you’d like to drop. Let’s just say, I’m somewhere in between (and I wish it was only the 5)!

In years past, I’ve listed my #1 resolution as losing weight, generally followed by how much weight I’ve wanted to lose. Period. The problem is, I never put down anything specific. I never created a game plan. Sure, I had an idea of what I’d do. A few years ago, I quit drinking sodas, cut out a lot of sugar that way, especially since I’d been a Mt. Dew junkie. Had one every morning, every afternoon and sometimes more in the evenings. It wasn’t easy to give up, but I did it. The thing is, it didn’t help me lose weight. I knew it had helped others lose weight. So why didn’t it help me? Because I overcompensated…with sweet tea. Yeah, I’m from the South and we love our Southern Sweet Tea. It’s practically a delicacy. So while I gave up one sugary drink, I replaced it with another. No game plan. No success.

This year, I’m putting weight loss on my list again, along with the amount I want to lose. But I’m not stopping there. I’m going to list several specific ways I plan to lose the weight and get fit and not replace one bad thing with another. Now, your specifics may be different from mine, but this is what my game plan looks like:
· Work out 3 times a week
· Eat smaller portions (box up ½ of each meal when I eat out, share it with a friend or order less- no super-sizing)
· Take the stairs (stop using the elevator, not just some days but every day)

In the next few days, I’m going to go a step further, to really get specific. For instance, I’m going to mark the days on my calendar when I’ll be working out; schedule them just as if they were appointments with important clients.

I truly believe that being more specific will help me in keeping my New Year’s resolutions. And it doesn’t have to be about weight loss. It can be about anything that you want to change in your life this year. Make 2011 your year to make a difference in YOUR life. When you become a better YOU, you become a better (fill in the blank) for them, your clients, your family, the recipients of your volunteer work, your employer.

Another thing I’m changing is this. I’m not making a list of 10 resolutions. I know myself and that’s way too many to keep! Instead, I’m making my list easier to control. I’m cutting it down to 3. So, in addition to being more specific, I’m intending for success by making my resolutions more manageable.

My #2 resolution is to finish a book I’ve begun writing. Now, last year I had every intention of completing it by the end of 2010. That’s not happening. Why? Probably because I let little things get in the way of my writing time. Now, could I have finished it? Sure. It was definitely do-able. But I didn’t have specific times blocked off on my calendar; I didn’t set small goals in order to reach completion. Now, I’ve set dates when each chapter should be completed rather than when the entire book should be complete. And if you’d like to keep up with my progress, visit http://www.shehasabigbut.com/. Yes, an odd name, for sure. But once you read on the site what the book is all about, you’ll see it fits pretty well.

My third resolution is to work on my speaking skills. As a speaker, I realize how important it is to not only get lots of stage time but to continue learning from others and putting what I learn into practice. The last thing I want to do is bore my audience! (And that’s the last thing they want me to do, too)! I’ve blocked off time on my calendar to learn from others and to participate in my local Toastmasters group; the only way I can be better is to have good feedback and the best way to get it is from Toastmasters who have learned the art of giving valuable evaluations.

Now, if you’ve been like me, a little disappointed at the end of the year when you realize you haven’t kept your resolutions, I encourage you to do two things:

1) Be specific; give ways you can reach your goals and make those ways do-able. (You noticed I’m not giving up my sweet tea. Sure, I could put that on the list, but giving it up completely is not going to happen).

2) Keep your resolution list manageable; pick only a few things to work on.

If you and I do this, I truly believe, when we come down to the end of 2011, we won’t have to wonder where all that January 1st willpower went. Instead, we’ll have reason to celebrate because you and I will have kept the resolutions we set, every single one.

Wishing you the best in your 2011 success,
Jean

http://www.jeanbaileyrobor.com/