Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year's!

It's that time of year again to make new resolutions for the year ahead of us. I can't remember if I've ever actually finished any resolution that I've ever made for New Year's. Well, last year I did lose the weight I wanted, but it's all back now so I can't count that, now can I?

I was looking at lds.org and found this little snippet of a talk (but it was just a bunch of snippets of different talks so I don't know which/whose talk it is from) that had tips for keeping your goals. I liked the first little section so I thought I'd post them here so I can refer to them later:

Make realistic resolutions. Don't try too much too quickly. If you don't currently read the scripture and you set a goal of reading 30 minutes every day, you are likely setting yourself up for failure. It may be more realistic to set a goal to just read something each day, even if it's just a few verses. After that becomes habit, try increasing your goal.

Set a series of smaller goals. Divide a big goal into smaller sections. Say you want to save money. Instead of leaving your goal so vauge, plan a reasonable amount for the first month and a larger number for the first quarter and so on. The smaller goals will help keep you encouraged as you make progress.

Make reminders. After you decide the things you want to work on, make several reminders for yourself. ou can post a message on your mirror but if you tend to ignore messages then you'll have to be more creative.

Be kind to yourself. If you've made a resolution that is making you miserable, be willing to change it. Sometimes you bite off more than you can chew. Instead of giving it up as a failure, modify the goal so you can continue to improve yourself.

My goals for this year are:
1. read the Book of Mormon
2. eat healthy
3. exercise at least 3 times a week (not counting dog walks)
4. socialize Tucker
5. keep my house cleaner

I hope everyone has a great 2010!

3 comments:

Us said...

Those are some good tips for resolutions. I saw one more that I liked. Find a resolution buddy. :)I stopped making resolutions before I got married because I never kept them, but this year I decided to make them and really keep them. You have some really good goals there. Good luck with them!

Valerie said...

I never really make resolutions at the beginning of the year since I just begin them whenever I think of them throughout the year. And my never-ending "I wanna lose weight but I don't wanna stop eating dessert" wish. But I decided this year to write down the goals I've been working on so I can track my progess. Hope you meet your goals...all great resolutions.

Heather and Thomas Mann said...

Good post...as always :) those are great tips. Good luck on your goals...you can do it!

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