
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012 has finally come to an end. And with the stroke of midnight came new resolutions, new promises, and new goals. We told ourselves we would eat better, exercise more, save money, yadda…yadda…yadda. Now we are at the end of week 3 of 2013, and many of us have not taken one step towards our newly established goals. After the New Year’s hugs, kisses, and celebrations were over, many of us went right back to what we were doing the day before. Some of us may have taken baby steps in the right direction while others took a leap into the new resolutions, only to fall back by the end of week 1 because we hit it so hard in the beginning that it was too much to sustain. Which group do you relate to?
With any change, you have to identify the steps that you plan to take to make that change, and you need to visualize what success looks like. If it is your goal to get healthier this year, you must first determine what you need to do to get there (cut calories, exercise more, drink more water, etc.). And you need to get a mental picture of what it “looks like” after you actually achieve the goal. Maybe success looks like pounds lost, or blood pressure stabilized, or reduction of insulin required for diabetics. If your goal is to save more money, you have to lay out the steps you will take to do that. Maybe it means cutting out your Starbucks coffee in the morning, or putting your pocket change in a jar at the end of the day. Maybe it means having a certain amount of money automatically deposited each pay day into a savings account that you don’t touch. What would success look like to you in that case? Maybe success is having a certain amount of money saved by the end of the year. Or success might resemble the establishment of a 529 Plan for your child’s college education. It’s your goal…your vision…so you must design it.
Whatever your goal…whatever your vision, you can’t finish if you don’t start. “HOW DO I GET STARTED?” you say. I’m glad you asked… J. You start by taking one step at a time. By now you should know that I am a really big fan of journaling and writing things down. So your first step should be to get a notebook, journal, napkin, matchbook, something…anything…and start listing the steps you plan to take to make your goals a reality. As you list them, challenge yourself but be realistic on expectations, otherwise you will quit before you really get started. After you have made your list, put them in order of priority. What must you do first, second, third, etc? At that point you are READY. Then you must equip yourself with whatever tools you need to work through the items on your list. Maybe you need running shoes, or to open a savings account. Maybe you need to have your taxes prepared so you can get your tax refund to fund your investment plan. Once you have the tools you need for your goal, then you are SET. With your goals in hand and your tools readily available, it’s time to GO! Don’t wait one more minute. It’s time. READY…SET…GO!!!
Until next time… KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! – Dawn-Charmel