New Years Resolutions

As the New Year approaches, many people begin evaluating the past year. We decide what we’d like to change about our lives, commit to doing new things, and try to do a few of them. Three months later, we concede to trying again next year. n Let this year be the year you complete your goals, change your life, and start living the life you’ve always wanted!
There are many reasons why these resolutions are never completed. Firstly, the goals you choose many not be in alignment with your life purpose. Many people think that because they have reached some career goals they have discovered their life purpose. However, your job is not your life. Nor can it completely fulfill you. So what will? Think back to the times in your life when you felt totally fulfilled. It may be only a fleeting moment, but try to capture the details of that moment and how you felt at that moment. The words you pick may be fulfilled, connected, playful, happy, pleased, and feisty, whatever you felt, and those are the words of your life purpose. Now choose the words you feel most compelled by. Put them together any way you wish. For example, “accept connections warmly.” When you make life decisions, they should be decisions that can fulfill your life purpose. For Example, before you decide to commit to that afternoon of community service, will it allow you to “accept connections warmly”? If yes, it is in alignment with your values and will add beauty to your life. If not, you want to reconsider.
Secondly, your goals may not be reasonable. When planning your goals, consider where you are now, and where you want to be in six months. For example, if you want to start going to the gym, think of how often you go to the gym now. If you don’t go to the gym now, then going to the gym every day is not a reasonable goal. Start small. Set a goal of going to the gym two times a week.
The third step in successfully completing your goals is to evaluate your success. For example, if you have been successful at attending the gym two times a week, take another step and work towards going to the gym three or four times a week. Or, you may decide to spend more time at the gym on those two occasions.
What if you haven’t been successful? This is where most people give up. They decide they will never achieve the goal. This is only your first attempt. Change your attitude. Because you haven’t been successful, you have determined a strategy that doesn’t work for you. Hurray! You can stop trying that strategy. Now you know it doesn’t work, so stop doing it. Now you can create a strategy that works! Staying with the example of attending the gym, change your plan. You might try changing the time you go to the gym. You might try going to a different gym, or bringing a friend with you. You might decide to work out in your own home, or a friend’s home. You might change the type of activity you participate in. You might put a support person in place that will reward you for your efforts. Be creative. Evaluate again in another month.
Now, going to the gym might not be your goal. You might want to lead a healthier life including quitting smoking. You might want to start a career search. You might want to spend more time with your family. Remember to look at all areas of your life and make sure you are not neglecting any priorities by creating new goals. This can be a complex process. You may decide that working with a success coach is a valuable way to create and complete your goals. I began working as a coach to help others learn to create a more balanced fulfilling life. I believe this is a desire of every person, however, discovering, creating, and using strategies to do so can be challenging. I work with clients to discover their life purpose, evaluate their lives, and create strategies to produce change. Working together, I provide an environment of unconditional acceptance, support, and accountability. Allow me to work with you in accomplishing your New Year’s Resolution. A resolution to live the life you’ve always wanted.