So we are drawing close to the final stretch of this holiday season and 2009 will soon be behind us. As I have been browsing the web, I have begun to notice an all too familiar trend that occurs during the NYE week, everyone and their mother is setting goals/reflecting on the past year/talking about doing something amazing in 2010. This is all well and good, pushing your life to another level is the essence of being a human being and taking a moment to reflect on the past year and set new goals for the upcoming year is a great way to get your ass in gear after your hangover subsides this Friday. There is a problem however. Despite all the articles, TV advertisements, goal setting, resolutions, financial commitments, and you’re signing in blood of your soul to the devil himself, what is the ultimate outcome for most people and their New Year resolutions?
They crash and burn
Nearly every single person that I know, read about, see on TV, or read about in some arbitrary blog post will completely fall off the wagon within a month of now when it comes to following through on their New Year’s resolutions. Why does this happen? How is it that everyone who tries to loose weight, get a significant other, or even travel more, end up sitting on the couch or in front of the computer and wasting even more of their time then they did last year? It’s simple really
While I might be sounding pessimistic sitting here talking about how much everyone fucks up their goals, ultimately I want people to get to the root of their problems and push forward in their goals so that they become a better person. Moving beyond this touching sentimental moment, why is it that these people fail? The answer is simple really, they don’t really commit to anything. The vast majority of people who make these New Year’s resolutions really don’t change that much in their lives in order to make their goals a reality; they don’t exert any level of determination or perseverance in regards to following through with all of their wide eyed hopes and dreams. Luckily, there is a much simpler way for someone to not have 2010 flop for them, and that involves making a serious commitment right now and not after the ball drops this week.
Assume for a moment that your goal for 2010 is to quit your job and start your own business. Awesome, you have decided to make a huge change in your life and want to be in control of your own business, which is a great goal. So here is what I need you to do. You need to give your two weeks notice, hand in your badge, or egg your boss’s car, whatever you need to do in order to leave your job, today. That’s right; you need to take action towards your goal right now at this very moment without trying to put things off till after the holiday season is over. This single moment of action is designed in order to create a snowball effect that kind of hits you in the face once the new year really starts, so that instead of being able to come up with a million reasons why you shouldn’t follow through with your goals, you can only muster up a few thousand because you have already traversed through the vast majority of the bullshit that comes with making a drastic change in your life. This same logic could be used for wanting to get in shape and eat healthy, so that means going to the gym today and making excellent use of that treadmill that you are paying 50$ a month for through your newfound monthly membership fees to Lifetime Fitness. That means not downing 18 different drinks on NYE and having only one or two glasses of champagne because you know that downing 1000 empty calories isn’t going to be conductive towards loosing weight and getting your ass tone in 2010.
But Gabriel, it’s NYE! Why can’t I just enjoy myself and have fun and not worry about starting all my goals until after I nurse a beautiful hangover. Simple, because you have been enjoying yourself for the duration of 2009, and if you seriously give a shit about making a change in 2010, you need to take steps right now towards making those dreams a reality.
Once you ultimately bite your tongue and decide to follow through with taking steps right now towards your 2010 goals, I have a homework assignment that I am sure many of you can see on the horizon, a 30 day challenge. If you haven’t embarked on a 30 day challenge before, you are in for one hell of a ride. Essentially a 30 day challenge is when you commit yourself fully to taking action everyday towards your goals for a 30 day period. This means working out and eating right every single day for 30 days straight if you are trying to get in shape. If you are starting your own business and quitting your 9-5 job, this means spending 30 days getting your new business off the ground without any stress of having to get your “normal” job work done, because you already quit your job.
Between taking immediate action before New Years Eve and committing yourself to a 30 day challenge, by the end of January the chances of you sustaining your new found goals are very high, because you will likely have new habits in your life that are dedicated towards your new goals and dreams.
It’s really that simple; I have done this numerous times and had great success in improving my life throughout the course of the year.
And if you don’t know what actions to take or you know deep down that you are afraid to pull the trigger and make a change in your life, leave a comment or shoot me an email and I will be glad to help guide you in making an action plan that will lead you closer to the life that you want, and you will likely have a whole new slew of reasons to hate me in no time 😉
Cheers and Ill see you right after NYE madness
Gabriel
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