This year is quickly coming to a close. Soon many will make New Year’s resolutions or set goals for the new year.
The time is now for you to begin setting the goals that you want to reach for the new year.
Don’t wait until December 31, 2012 to begin setting goals, start planning now, how you will reach those goals today.
Waiting until the last-minute to set your goals for the new year can set you up for failure.
It is important that you plan today for success, because if you do not have a plan, you will find yourself not reaching your goals.
One of the most popular goals/resolutions that people make for the new year is to lose weight.
You should start planning now how you will reach your goal. Here are some tips that will help you get your mind in gear for planning, preparation and success.
Prepare
Whatever you want to do, you must prepare. Preparation is the key to unlocking the door of success. If you want to lose weight, start now, preparing how you will be successful.
- Start by making a list of what you want to do for the new year.
Plan
You know you want to lose weight; ask yourself how will you carry out that goal.
- Write detailed plan and be very specific.
Stay on Track
Sometimes it is hard to stay on track. It is easy to give up when getting off track, but you must not give up because you get off track.
- Re-group and get back on track. Never give up!
Change Course when Needed
If your original plan is not working for you, then take a timeout. You may need to change your strategy and how you are playing the game of success.
- It is okay to switch up the way you play the game, just don’t quit the game.
Expect Success
The way you begin a thing, is the way it will end. Stay positive and focused on your goals. Having a positive attitude and believing that you will succeed is a big key to success. If you think failure, then you will fail.
- When you think and believe that you are a winner, you will succeed.
Final Words
Now is the time for you to start preparing for the goals that you want to reach for the new year. Don’t wait until the last-minute to begin planning for success. Last minute planning leads to last-minute success, which almost always results in last-minute failure.
Plan for success today, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Image courtesy of Thaikrit / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
As far as a weight loss goal, I like the idea of starting now rather than on January 1. I’m not so much a fan of the whole feast and famine approach, i.e., now I’m overindulging because it’s the holidays, now it’s January 1 and I’m going to make a drastic change. Not saying that I’m completely immune to that, not at all; the holidays are difficult for maintaining weight. But what about just keeping a food log during the holidays? That would provide good baseline info about what you (or anyone) are eating now, and also the very fact of keeping a food log makes you a lot more conscious and therefore you eat less.
Hi Mary!
I like your recommendation of keeping a food log during the holidays. Keeping a food log, would really help with consuming less or simply put one’s diet into perspective.
Thanks for sharing and chiming in!!
Great post Evelyn. I wanted to add something to “Change Course when Needed.” Before a person changes course, try to stick it out one more week. When we build patterns of behavior over long periods of time, our bodies and minds want to continue along that path because our identities are linked to those past patterns. It takes time to change. Our patterns were over a long period of time, and it is likely that a long period of time will be needed for sustained change. We can change, but change in many cases takes time.
Thanks, Aqiyl!
You’re right about changing course when needed. It definitely takes time to change, especially when we’ve been doing things a certain way most of our lives.
Thanks for stopping by and chiming in!
EP
Nice article Evelyn. You’re are so right about not getting off track. It’s so hard sometimes, all kinds of problems come up and hold you back.
You’re right about that. I’ve had things come up which has hindered me, which was out of my control, but now things have gotten better. I’m ready to get back to doing what I was doing.
Thanks for chiming in!
My pleasure, Evelyn. I like “chatting” with you (not to mention reading your articles) 😀 Have a nice week!
I really enjoyed this article. I advise my clients, all the time, to set reasonable goals for themselves and to be specific about goals (know that you want to lose 25lbs, instead of being okay losing ‘any’ weight). Good stuff.
Hey FW!
Setting reasonable goals and being specific is good. When we set our goals too high, it is hard to reach those goals.
THanks for chiming in!
Well put! Planning for setbacks is also key. Inevitably we will deviate from our plan. So having a plan to get back on track without feeling it’s “all or nothing” is helpful. I like your list and timing. Start NOW!
Hey Kymberly!
Thanks for chiming in and sharing!
Yeah, planning for setbacks is a good point. I’ll definitely plan for setbacks this time around. 🙂