Only ten more days left in 2019. January first will be here before you know it and we will all think about how and what we want to change in the new year.
Most of us will reaffirm our commitments from previous years (if we can remember them) and maintain them for about two weeks.
Last year’s top ten* were:
1. Diet or eat healthier (71 percent)
2. Exercise more (65 percent)
3. Lose weight (54 percent)
4. Save more and spend less (32 percent)
5. Learn a new skill or hobby (26 percent)
6. Quit smoking (21 percent)
7. Read more (17 percent)
8. Find another job (16 percent)
9. Drink less alcohol (15 percent)
10. Spend more time with family and friends (13 percent)
Look familiar? Is it because all or some of these have been on your resolution list for several years?
I’d like to propose something radical for you to consider today. How about making some reasonable resolutions, that are simple in practice and incorporated into your life over the course of the year?
Here’s what I mean. Let’s say you write down your resolutions and roll them out one per month. That way you are not overwhelmed and may achieve something.
For example, let’s say you want to have less clutter in your home. It may seem monumental now so just schedule a day and time when you will start, give yourself a beginning and end time, and tackle the one project that will really make an impact right away. Maybe it is the mess on the dining room table, where everyone seems to drop everything. Clear it, put everything in its place and assign a new home for things like keys, clothing, mail, and prescriptions, which is not the tabletop. Now, set the table with new placemats, a centerpiece, some fresh cut flowers to discourage dropping everything there again.
You get the idea. Now that you have that tackled you can move on to bigger things, like your closet, attic or garage. Break it down into smaller chunks and see how much easier it will be to clear the clutter and in doing so, open yourself up to new people, ideas and things that bring you joy.
Some other simple practices you may want to incorporate in 2020 are slowing down, nurturing your creativity, paying attention and being more fully present, and get more fiscally as well as physically fit. Again tackle one per month, and dedicate yourself each month to developing that new habit. And if you fail, so what. Start over or go to another item on your list and work on that. Just don’t give up.
By successfully achieving these reasonable resolutions you will radically change your life, over time. Believe me, your life will change with you taking action each and every day.
If you are not sure of what you want to achieve in 2020, please join me for a Visionboard session this Saturday, December 28, from 2pm to 5pm to help you map out what you would like to achieve in the next twelve months, with confidence and clarity. I promise you will walk out with a clear image of what you would like to manifest in your life. So much more fun than a list of resolutions!