Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions - and what’s wrong with them

Friday, December 29th, 2006
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Betcha can guess #1…

  1. Lose weight
  2. Exercise more
  3. Eat right
  4. Get out of debt
  5. Save money
  6. Spend time with family
  7. Quit drinking/smoking
  8. Get organized
  9. Help others
  10. Learn something new

All of these sound like things most of us need to do with our lives, right? So what’s wrong with these resolutions, you ask?

Well, I’ll tell ya–they’re not specific, they’re not really resolutions, and they’re all destined to fail! They’re all just vague goals, devoid of any realistic plan that will lead to the achievement of the goal. If you’re really serious about your New Year’s resolution, you have to decide on a specific goal and create a plan that will help you reach the goal.
For an example of what I’m talking about, consider the resolution to “Lose weight.” Tons of people make this resolution every year, and almost none of them succeed. Why? Because they don’t have a goal or a plan. If you really want to lose weight, decide how much: 5 pounds? 10 pounds? 100 pounds? Pick a (realistic!) number, then make a plan that will help you reach your goal. Take baby steps at first if necessary: take the stairs instead of the elevator; eat carrots every time you crave a snack. When you’re ready, you can incorporate additional behaviors that will help you lose weight, like running for 30 minutes 3 times a week (note how that’s a specific behavior, not just a vague statement about “exercising more”) or eating out only twice a month instead of twice a week.

If you don’t have a specific goal in mind or a plan to achieve that goal, you won’t keep your New Year’s resolution. It’s as simple as that. So–what’s your goal, and how do you plan to achieve it?

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ABOUT THIS AUTHOR


Tracy

  1. scully
    December 29th, 2006

    well goodie, first MNer to post. I never keep the big one but I do try. Is this where I post mine?


  2. rubyredshoes
    December 29th, 2006

    I’m looking for support and looking to jump in and help if I can, but first I have to get the hang of how to use this blog!


  3. rubyredshoes
    December 31st, 2006

    Well, after reading through everything I think I found out what the problem is with my resolution.

    I’ve decided that I probably am not taking it seriously enough and in a way, I am setting myself up to fail. It came to me when I was thinking of writing down my resolution here and then got very nervous that I was posting about something that I probably was going to fail at.

    I need to re-think my resolution and determine how committed I am. In other words, I need a plan!


  4. rubyredshoes
    December 31st, 2006

    Hi Scully, it’s Fran

    I’m trying to find out where to post our resolutions. I will post it here when I do.


  5. hosinthehouse
    December 31st, 2006

    My NYR’s are 2,3,5,10. I plan to save money by bringing my lunch to work and not eating any fast food. No more elevators to get to my cube, im going to huff it up the stairs. Great way to burn some extra calories.


  6. bren
    December 31st, 2006

    Hey Scully, Hey Fran… I try not to make resolutions anymore as I never keep them… therefore Im never disappointed!! lol Actually this year I am going to make one. Its been almost 5 years since I’ve lived with anyone other than my son. But now there is someone else here, and I’ve found that in those 5 years I’ve gotten pretty set in some ways. Stupid things like not leaving a glass on the counter (even though he uses that glass all the time) so …. my NYR is to be less picky when its not important.


  7. scully
    December 31st, 2006

    Hi Fran, let me know. My resolutions are to really enter all sweeps I can, get rid of things I do not need on ebay or donate. And figure out what the heck I am going to do about my life this year. Good riddence 2006


  8. rubyredshoes
    January 1st, 2007

    Hi Everybody!

    Well, here it is the first day of the New Year. I’m wondering how many of us are actually sticking to our resolutions!

    I screwed mine up already. I woke up this morning and didn’t think about it. Automatically lit up a cigarette. This is going to be harder than I thought if I can’t even remember it. I’ll blame it on aging, ha ha.

    So, now I have to try to re-commit myself. Wish me luck, guys.

    And, Happy New Year to You All


  9. bren
    January 2nd, 2007

    LOL Fran, Im doing good with mine so far. But I do have to remember to bite my tongue .

    Keep at it though you’ll get it!!!

    Happy New Year to you too.


  10. Chrebet
    January 2nd, 2007

    Hi Everyone

    Well I am trying to quit smoking again…… Hopefully this will be the last year I make that resolution. As to why I always fail, I have no will power when it comes to quitting.

    LOL Bren I’ve been going through the same problems as you are going through, GL!


  11. rubyredshoes
    January 2nd, 2007

    Hi Chre

    Thanks for stopping in. Well, that is my resolution too! I started a post “I’ll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours” (at least I think it is what it says), if you’d like to drop in and comment on the smoking issue.


  12. bren
    January 2nd, 2007

    Hi Chre! its good to see you!
    I”m getting better….. really I am. Of course…I’ve a long way to go to stop all those little things from actually bothering me… And most of them are not so important– a glass on the counter isnt so terrible…. the rest of the things..well..lol no kidding. some are important to me and I will push on those. But the rest I just will have to learn to let go on.


  13. rubyredshoes
    January 2nd, 2007

    That is one area where I used to butt heads with Bill (my other half). He used to get excited about the smallest things when we were raising the kids. I always told him “choose your battles”. A hairstyle, for example, was not important enough for me to get upset over. I saved that for the big things. I have to say that Bill was finally able to do that, at least to a greater extent than he ever could in the past.

    Now, I’m watching my kids with their daugher and I am preaching the same sermon again. I think they are getting the hang of it. God knows a 4 year old can test your patience!

    I think you have to get your head to realize it’s not worth it, even though inside it is still bugging you some and decide where you want to make a stand (things that just bug you too much to ignore!)


  14. Tracy
    January 2nd, 2007

    If y’all want to register to post your own resolutions, I created two new articles with instructions on how to do it. Check ‘em out:

    http://www.newyearsresolutionsblog.com/how-to-post

    http://www.newyearsresolutionsblog.com/how-to-post-more-info

    Happy 2007! :D

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