Posts Tagged ‘Resolutions’

Help With That New Year’s Resolution…

Tuesday, January 1st, 2008
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I’ve done considerable study and research, learning and personal development over the last few years. It’s one of the reasons why I have the type of attitude I do and why my belief in not only myself, but YTB is so strong. I’m a completely different person today than when I first joined YTB some three years ago. Many of us want to change, and New Years resolutions are always a good start to forming new habits and projects.

Part of the problem however, is keeping those resolutions alive. If I asked you today, what your New Years resolution was for last year, I’m willing to bet that most of you couldn’t tell me what it was. Why?

First, most don’t even take the time to write down these resolutions to begin with. We’re too lazy to even take the time to put it down on paper, but somehow fully expect to keep them? (Rrrrrrright.) I not only had mine written down, but just replaced it on my bathroom mirror this morning. I saw mine every single day. While I didn’t read it aloud every day, I did at least look at it and it triggered the reminder of what my goals and aspiration were for 2007.

In the spirit of today, I thought I’d offer some tips on helping you keep your resolution now that you’ve taken the time to write it down and place it on your mirror. (If you’re serious about this, I know you did.)

Here we go…

Focus on the Process:
Almost every resolution focuses on an outcome, such as losing 40 pounds or running a marathon. Instead, focus on the process that will get you there. This means that your resolution should focus on what you will do, not what you will get. Translate your wish list for the new year into concrete actions. For example, try pledging to eat 20% less at every meal instead of losing 40 pounds. If you want to invest $3000 into a retirement account this year, break it down to putting aside $10.00 a day.

Make It Daily:
Your best bet for success is turning your resolution into a daily action, (thus the $10 per day, or 20% less at every meal) so that it becomes habitual. Engaging in at least 10 minutes of exercise everyday, for example, is a better than saying you’ll go to the gym 3 times a week. You can always do more than the 10 minutes, but (on a bad day) you can still meet your goal with a quick 10 minute walk.

Visualize:
It may sound like new age hocus-pocus, but visualizing yourself doing your resolution can help. When you visualize, your brain “practices” your action. Musicians and athletes use this to improve their performance, and you can use it to increase your success. Just spend a few moments picturing yourself eating less, exercising more or relaxing in the new year. Make it vivid — picture sites, smells, and sounds.

Feel It:
You need to feel the benefits of your resolution in your body. That means you need to pay attention to how your body feels. Does your resolution improve your sleep, mood or energy level? Does it remove stress from your life? Ask yourself what benefits you should be expecting. Check in with yourself daily to monitor the benefits of your resolution and truly feel your progress.

Commit:
A New Year’s resolution won’t work if you don’t commit to it. Along with writing this down in a sentence that says what you are going to do in the new year. Once you write it down and post it, tell everyone about your plans. The more people you tell, the better your chance for success –they can hold you accountable to your pledge, and you can feel an increased sense of needing to stand by your word.

I hope this helps and if you’d like to call, e-mail, comment here with your New Years resolution feel free. Just be advised, that if you do, I’ll be asking you in a few months how it’s going. What are going to be the odds you won’t even remember what the heck it was?

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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The Tradition of New Years Resolutions

Friday, December 29th, 2006
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The tradition of taking a resolution at New Year and fulfill it in the coming year, dates back to the early Babylonians.

The Babylonians believed that what a person does on the first day of the New Year will affect him or her throughout the year. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian’s most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. New Year’s Resolutions offer the first of many important tools for remaking ourselves.

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called “Opportunity” and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.”
~ Edith Lovejoy Piercre


In December or early January, almost everyone is minted up by the desire to plan a wonderful New Year! We plan vacations, and we imagine that any goal can be achieved. We eagerly make New Year’s Resolutions and set our biggest goals ever! It’s a perfect time to reflect on the changes we want to or need to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

Resolutions if carried out successfully not only act as short-term goals to success but also help in improving life and overcoming those habits, which we ourselves do not like.

The unfortunate reality, of course, is that for most people the year goes by with little or no change. We do our jobs and live our lives, but our dreams don’t come true. Some things do change, but life doesn’t seem all that different. Not really. Not like we hoped.

The New Year is a good time to make resolutions but what is the point of resolutions if we can’t keep them? Do you also want to have a resolution for the year 2007?

Tips for New Year Resolution

  1. Go Public: Those who say one thing and do another are labeled unreliable, hypocritical and even inconsistent. Tell everyone at home, work, gym, church, etc about your goal. The fear of being ill labeled or looked at as inconsistent by those who think highly of you will psychologically pressure you to follow through. Daily tell 3 different people about your goal.
  2. Don’t Wait: Never wait for the right time, the right motivation, or the right intuition. For they will only come AFTER you have taken the initial step. Whether you are motivated or not, take one action daily towards attaining the goal you wish to put off. Then motivation will follow.
  3. Make Your Resolution “Quit-Proof”: The more you invest into something, the harder it’s to give up on it. Invest more time, more energy, and if necessary, more capital towards the realization of that which you are pursuing. The less you have to lose, the easier it’s to quit. Invest daily towards the attainment of your goal.
  4. Locate the Opportunities: Though you cannot see them, opportunities are all around you. It’s only when you are ready for them that they will be ready for you. Remember, when the musician is ready, the tune will appear. So get ready.
  5. Get Ready: True readiness comes from acting on that which you are not ready for. As Aristotle once said, “The things you have to learn before you can do them, you learn by doing them.” Plunge into it, and then you’ll be ready.
  6. Develop Momentum: One small action can build the excitement and the urge to continue or even finish what before you didn’t feel like doing. That’s how momentum is created. Just take one small step even if you don’t feel like it and momentum will eventually emerge.
  7. Start Every Day With the Next Step: Every morning, ask yourself, “What action would I take towards accomplishing my goal if success was guaranteed?” Then take that very action in spite of any reluctance.
  8. Overcome Reluctance: Keep in mind that easy things when done with reluctance become difficult, and difficult things when done with cynicism become impossible. Move beyond reluctance with the right anticipation.
  9. Anticipate Success: This is probably the simplest, but most overlooked item of the list. Pure and simple “belief” that you CAN do this! I love what Earl Nightingale says: “You become what you think about most of the time.”

Here’s to making this years Resolutions stick!

PS - If you're involved with YTB, sign up for our FREE Newsletter. As a Website Owner or Website Seller, we'll keep you up to date with all the latest news, acquisitions, and developments with YTB.

PPS - Subscribe to the Just Picture It Now RSS feed, (including e-mail) for all the latest posts and updates found right here!

Doug & Ronda Bauknight
Doug & Ronda Bauknight
AKA: TravelPro
Travel Agent / Networker
Phone: 678.458.5812
Book Your Travel & Vacations With


TSO #588629
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