January 01, 2008

BE IT RESOLVED ...

TOP 10 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR 2008

1. Get out of debt or save money
2. Lose weight
3. Develop a healthy habit (e.g., exercise or healthy eating)
4. Get organized
5. Develop a new skill or talent
6. Spend more time with family and friends
7. Other
8. Work less, play more
9. Break an unhealthy habit (e.g., smoking, alcohol, overeating)
10. Change employment


Franklin-Covey did the survey. (Covey is of the Stephen Covey of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) They polled 15,301 people and this was the sum of all their hopes and dreams for 2008. Franklin-Covey also discovered that 35% of people break their resolutions by the end of January. 40% say it’s because they have too much on their plate, and 33% say they aren’t really committed to their resolutions. Only 23% attain their resolutions.

They’ve come up with 8 things that will help you be part of the 23%

1. Think of your resolutions as goals (they are more specific than vague resolutions … which is funny when you think of the phrase I resolve … that doesn’t seem vague that seems rather firm to me!)
2. Set only 1 or 2 realistic goals (see we’ve already changed the vocab!)
3. Write down your goals (so you have a record of future failure! :) You are supposed to write them and keep them in a place you can review them periodically … so napkin scraps tossed in the back seat don't bode well for the 23% success rate!)
4. Take baby steps (break your goal down into manageable bites and schedule them … already … the creative part of my brain is atrophied … I don’t schedule things well)
5. Go public (this is part of #3 … so your failure can be mocked by a good friend!)
6. Track Your progress (where is that scrap of napkin ???)
7. Reward Yourself (I have no issues with that … I’m all about that)
8. If you slip-up … Recommit (Don’t get discouraged if you slip up. Everyone has bad days. Just forgive yourself, recommit to your goal and keep moving forward. Stay energized and motivated to achieve the end result. … I actually really like this last statement … pretty much summarizes the Christian walk … except we also get to count on God’s showing us Grace, Mercy … )

The question is … do I do a resol … I mean set a New Year’s goal?

6 comments:

Dougie G said...

I think it's healthy to self-evaluate and take stock of our life and to set realistick goals. I think the key is not to set the bar too high so we don't get discouraged and give up. Lifestyle changes and creating new good habits take time, so we need to be patient with ourselves and forgiving should we fail, so we can keep trying. Somebody told me it takes 20 days to form a habit and therefore it takes at least 20 days to break a habit. I tried every year for 10 years to quit smoking, had prayer, used every product on the market... nothing worked. I did cut down over time and my attitude towards it slowly changed. Finally, the price jumped dramatically and God showed me that it was an idol in my life. That gave me the incentive to finally quit along with the help of the patch. I've been smoke free for 6 years now, but I still struggle with cravings occasionally. It's not overpowering anymore, but I still need to be on my guard, because I really did like it.
So, to answer your question from my perspective, resolve away and make some goals!

Kelly said...

Hey Dougie. It is a healthy thing to do ... and I do do it ... I just don't always need New Year's to do it.

I suppose it makes sense ... New Year New You ... but at the same time, why wait for the one day a year? Why can't there be a new you in July? :)

AND even with that said, I do have a couple of things that I have set as goals. The first is standard after Christmas (and is usually a short term thing) the new year's diet. Just back to a month of no nibbly foods and stuff. The second is the longer term ... financial savings for things like weddings and homes and stuff! I've even put it on paper!

I'm glad you were able to kick the habit. I know it's a brutally tough one to kick. But like I said ... that's where God's Grace, Mercy & Strength come in!

Joe said...

I read the resolutions and then read the comments that followed. I can see where part of the problem lies in breaking resolutions so quickly. Here is the example that to me sticks out...

resolution 9: Break an unhealthy habit (e.g., ....overeating)

the problem: 40% say it’s because they have too much on their plate.

Har har... but in my case that is so true... whimper.

;)

Patti said...

Yes, and then the "reward yourself" rule would defeat the "don't overeat" rule, because a dark-chocolate-with-burnt-almonds bar IS my reward!!

I don't go public with my resolutions. I do better if I keep them to myself. Which is not to say that I keep them anyway.

I gotta go now.

Kelly said...

LOL JOE ... never saw the correlation! :)

MMMMMMM chocolate ... the only problem with my no nibblies in Jan theory of weight loss ... I still have a bunch of Christmas chocolate left ... and some of it REALLY good. AND the dark chocolate "K" that Sinter Klaas left in my stocking.

Dougie G said...

I have a Christmas tradition that I started as a child and continue to this day. The first thing I eat Christmas morning is " chocolate!". It's the only day of the year I allow myself this indulgance for breakfast.
I don't really resolve to lose the 5 or so pounds I gained over the holiday in the new year, it just happens automatically after getting back into my "healthy" routine of sensible eating and exersize.
If you have allot of the vitamin "c" left and you want to remove the temptation, you could bring it to CF and share with the rest of us after church during coffe time! lol