It’s odd that the start of a new calendar year has the power to seemingly clean the slate of the energies of the year gone before. Even when the year that is coming to a close has been filled with difficult periods, the vast majority hangs on to the promise of better energies to come. It’s rather magical really, hopeful, to say the least. Having said this, it would not come as any surprise that I, like many in the world, love my New Year resolutions. I have chosen from one to three resolutions per year since my early twenties. This comes easily to me and for the most part I stick to them, modifying some as I trot through the year.

The secret to my success can be summed up in the following 6 tips to successfully maintaining resolutions;

1.) Keep it simple — If it’s too complicated or far from your normal routine or way of life, you risk getting discouraged and dropping it entirely. Let’s say that you want to start eating healthier, the perfect start would be to remove one or two of the worst culprits in your current diet, such as fast food or sodas. Don’t cut out all unhealthy food and replace it with only bunny food. You will revolt. You can always cut additional offenders throughout the year. After removing the two biggest culprits become natural in the first few months, then by all means cut a few more problem foods in the following months. Make it doable. Your confidence and enthusiasm will build up, egging you to keep going.

2.) Make it fun — If it is not in some way pleasurable then the chances of quitting increase. Want to learn a new language? If you learn best in a group environment, then take a class with others rather than download audio components for you to practice on your own. If you can afford to and love to travel, combine the two for a language immersion trip. You will be completely surrounded by the language and learning the culture will be an added benefit.

3.) Test run—Perhaps you want to start exercising by signing up for a gym membership. Are you curious about a dance class? Until you try it on for size, you really do not know how this step will feel. Most dance schools and gyms offer free trials giving you the perfect opportunity to try on your idea for size first.

4.) Partner up — Your chances increase significantly of sticking to a resolution if you pair up with a friend or two. Sometimes just the thought of knowing that you have committed to others will give you the extra push at times when playing couch potato sounds perfectly wonderful. If necessary, you can mutually give yourselves a swift kick in the behind to get you moving. Sometimes a little push is exactly what the doctor ordered.

5.) It doesn’t need to be entirely new—Build upon a resolution from year’s past. Refine what you have started. Let’s say that you have maintained exercising throughout the year through dance classes and you are seriously happy with the results and how you are feeling. Perhaps now would be a great time to add another type of exercise, or perhaps you want to add another type of dance into your repertoire or quite simply perfect the original style of dance. Build upon the momentum already begun.

6.) Honour time constraints—Perhaps you do not have many minutes remaining in the day to take up a new interest or hobby. Utilize whatever few minutes you do have to give, be it 5 or 15 minutes. When it feeds you, it will energize, and who knows, this might just be what it takes to rearrange your daily routine to cut out the unnecessary time suckers in order to feed this new interest. By honouring your time constraints in the beginning, additional stress is avoided, which becomes another wonderful ingredient to success.

As for myself, my resolution will be in line with my business goals; to master social media. I would love to interact with all of you on a regular basis. But first I need to educate myself on what media will best work and then, of course, how to go about doing so efficiently and effectively. This resolution goes hand in hand with my personal goal, of doing so gently and with patience.

On this note I wish you all a wonderful New Year and many blessings to come.

With Love & Light

Michelle Rose

How important are New Year resolutions to you? Or perhaps it’s a tradition that isn’t of interest. Let me know in the comments below.

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