Posts Tagged ‘new years resolution’

In my last post I wrote about resetting goals once you have gotten off track. Hopefully those of you who have set new years resolutions are still working diligently towards your goals and haven’t had a need for that yet. The the start of the new year is a marking line for people to end on part of their life and put all the bad things behind them. We can say, “Last year wasn’t so great, but this year is gonna be better and I am gonna accomplish something.” It all seems like a great way to help people get motivated and start something new right? I don’t quite think so. I think that New Year’s Resolutions allows for procrastination, give false hope, and usually end in disappointment with the next chance of opportunity being far away.

New Year’s Resolutions Allow Procrastination

In fact they practically cause it. One thing that I have learned in achieving goals (and something you can find in most goal achievement books) is that an important part of successfully working towards a goal is to start NOW. It’s obviously important to you or you wouldnt be thinking about it. Why give yourself the chance to put it off until the remainder of the year. The New Year is a date that is set by humans and will most likely have little effect on you achieving your goals.

New Year’s Resolutions Give False Hope

Many times we set our goals for the new year far in advance. We start telling our friends ad colleagues about them and start dreaming about what it will be like to achieve them. Of course we are usually dreaming about the results, and not the hard work it may take to get there. But we tell ourselves “next year is a new year. It’s the year I will start doing it.” We alow ourselves to ignore the fact that we are only putting it off, or maye that we failed to acomplish it last year.

New Year’s Resolutions Lead to Disappointment and Failure

We have ourself all built up about achieving our new goal. We didn’t really plan it out so well because we came up with the goal such a long time ago. But it didn’t make sense to plan in detail for something so far away. And as we got closer, life got so busy with work, family, and holidays. We wait the entire year and then give ourselves one big shot. Is it really any big surprise that we fail. It is very difficult to make a commitment to any type of goal, and even more difficult to achieve on with no plan at all. When we fail we have no plan to get right back on track. Something I feel is vital to not only achieving your goals, but also gaining confidence.

What to do?

• Stop waiting for the New Year. Set your goals now and get started right away
• Choose attainable goals and take the one at a time
• Create a plan and write it down.
• Be sure to include a “getting back on track plan” when you get off track
• Make sure the goal is something you really want to achieve
• Reward yourself along the way for keeping with it

Related Links:

A study on achieving New Years resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work

Instead of staying in the warm climate here on Miyakojima, my wife and I flew to the US to visit family and friends for the holidays. It had been a little over a year since my last visit, so it was really great to see everyone. We stayed in the US for almost a month and did quite a bit (more posts on those adventures later). However, entering a completely new environment can cause you to lose focus on your goals. So how do you get back on track once your train has derailed and gone crashing over the cliff? Okay, yes, that may be a little dramatic.

First, let me start of by listing some of the goals I was pursuing before I left to for the States.

• Lean To Make a Living On Line- One of the reasons I was able to move to the small island of Miyakojima was because I decided to start my own business online. I am pretty good with technology, but by no means a computer wiz. This meant that there was a ton of learning and a lot of trial and error. This was my biggest goal. It was a little scary since I gave up my job and moved someplace totally new to start something I had never tried before. But if I could make it work, then then I would be able to live the life I wanted. I put a lot of time in on this one. Spent a lot of time online testing the things I learned, failing and trying again, reading books to learn more, and then trying again. This is where I spent the majority of my time.

• Get in Shape- Sitting at a desk working on a computer all day and a two and a half hour round trip commute didn’t leave me with much time or energy to exercise. Not to mention I was spending a lot of my spare time reading books on self improvement, time management, and business. After moving to Miyakojima, I dedicated a small portion of each day to getting in shape. I have never been a big fan of gyms and actually prefer to exercise on my own. I started running 4-5 times a week, purchased  the Professional Push-up Pro and installed a pull-up bar in my house for upper and mid body work out. Created a lower body work out consisting of things such as squats, lunges, and jumping exercises, and was also swimming  couple times a week while the temperature was still warm.

• Improve my Japanese- Learning a language (especially one as difficult as Japanese) is ever going. The more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know. My goal was to drastically increase my vocabulary and character recognition. I already had a number books including study guides for the Japanese language proficiency test level 2 (business level). I also purchase some great programs for the Itouch called Kanji Flip and Japanese Flip (both great programs for anyone wanting to improve their Japanese). I would read my books or use the programs for about 30 minutes each night before going to bed. I find that right before bed works good for me as I usually wake up the next morning retaining most of it. Something I discovered as a child when I had to recite Shakespeare in 4th grade. Is this true for everyone?

• Train karate- This was a goal that fit in perfectly with getting in shape. Due to lack of time while I was in Tokyo it was something I had mostly stopped doing. Since it is something that I have done since age 14 and something I really enjoy, I decided that I would start training again when I moved to Miyakojima. After settling in here, I found a nice flat place overlooking the ocean. I could train as much as I wanted with out being bothered, and I did so for about an hour a day, three times a week.

• Improving time management-Learning to better manage my time was what gave me a confidence to venture out and do my own thing in the first place. However, starting my own thing meant that I would have to entirely keep my own schedule. After a little experimenting I found that setting my own schedule actually allowed me to be more efficient and get more done. I was able to do things when I could do them best and focus on them. Trying to find time for the other goals meant that I had to be very efficient getting my work done.

The Derailment

So what happened when I got to the states? I was in a new time zone, a new environment, and new temptations. Quite quickly my priorities began to change. Being back in the states with no constraints other than time was like being in candy store where everything is free for an hour.

Continuing to learn and build a business was important, but I had no internet and I could only visit with my friends and family for one month. It might be another couple years before I would have the chance to see them again. Staying in shape was still important, but it was the winter holiday season and I hadn’t had authentic American food for a long time. It’s not too easy to come by here in Japan. The fact it was so cold out side (it snowed twice while I was there) meant it wasn’t as easy to exercise outside. Since I was only there for a month, I wasn’t gonna waste time studying Japanese in the US where I wasn’t even going to be using it. Time management also went out the door as there wasn’t really too much to manage since I had mostly given up most of the things I needed time for.

Getting Back On Track

So how do you get back on track after derailing? I think the first thing is to realize and accept that getting knocked off your plan will occasionally happen. And most importantly, that it’s okay. We have all set goals and resolutions for ourselves where we got off track and then beat ourselves up for quitting. Realizing that there will be setbacks allows you to set up plans to get back on track. There will always be minor setbacks, the key is just to keep making forward progress.

I find that the best way to get back on track is start a little behind the progress that I had previously achieved. For example, say you create the goal to run 10 kilometers. Running 1 kilometer three days a week and then adding a kilometer every two weeks to eventually get to the 10 kilometers. By the 10th week you are up to five kilometers. You’re right on track with your goal and you are feeling great.

Then things happen that cause you to get off track. You get sick, get sent on a business trip, or go on a vacation. During this period you aren’t able to exercise at all and your diet gets worse. This is the point where most people seem to give up. They think, “well at least I got as fa as I did, but I don’t want to start all over again.” Since you knew this was going to happen you have a plan to get back on track. You body is no longer in the top condition it was, so you start out running 3-4 kilometers and then work your way back up to 5 in no time at all.

One mistake that I have made, and I am sure that many others have as well, is to over do it. After missing a couple of my planned days I try to double up my training, study, or whatever I am doing to make up for this. This usually isn’t the best way. Your body and mind will fight against it and you will be less likely to continue now that you have a resistance to the pain you felt by going overboard. If you double the speed of your train after getting back on the tracks, you will probably just crash again on the next turn.

Staying on Track-Full Steam Ahead

I have found the best way to stay on track is to write down your goals and look at them as often as possible. Also write down your plans for when you get off track. Writing down your goals seems to set your mind in motion and makes achieving them a priority. Looking at them on a regular basis helps to keep you focused. And when your train does derail, then you have your written plan for exactly how to get back on track. Give it a try. Start with something small and then work your way up.

These are my thoughts on the matter. I would love to hear yours…