AT the start of every year, people make at least 10 Ney Year's resolution that they want to do to improve their lives.
However, after reaching another New Year, most of the time, they see a list of unfulfilled promises.
I do not intend to discourage Pinoy Balita's readers who have already
listed their new year's resolution as 2005 starts. On the contrary, I want to make them fulfill their promises by giving them
pointers on how to succeed in achieving their new year's resolution.
First, do not make your list of promises in just an hour nor even a day. Spread out these promises
in at least two weeks. Find time to make specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound (SMART) resolutions and
create an action plan and deadline for achieving each of them and targeta 90% to 100% achievement.
Most people, as you know, don't make resolutions. Studies tell us that these people tend to lead
mediocre, often dissapointing lives. Those of us who do set goals have success, the studies say, to the degree to which we
do the following:
- Write them down.
- Break them down into smaller units.
- Assign deadlines for each os those smaller units.
- Convert them into monthly, weekly, and daily objectives.
Studies show that those who wrote down their goals did much better than their college-educated
colleagues. And those who had followed up on their goals on a daily basis, with written tasks, had extraordinarily successful
lives.
You can make this an extraordinary year for you. Just follow my proven suggestions. First, identify
one significant goal in each of the four most important areas of your life:
- Your health (without which most of the others don't matter)
- Your wealth (which is undeniably important-so treat it as such)
- Your personal self (your hobbies and interests)
- Your social self (your friends, family and community)
Make each of your four goals significant yet specific. To do so may require setting several subordinate
objectives. For example, "Being in better shape" is a significant goal, but it is not specific. "Being able to run a seven-minute
mile" is specific yet it may not seem significant to you.
Let's say your health goal is to become measurably stronger, leaner, more flexible, and to have
greater endurance. Specifically, that would mean adding three pounds of muscle to your body, taking off four pounds of fat,
being able to jog 500 meters in five minutes.
You've been working hard all your life. You've been dreaming of achieving certain goals. You've
been deserving of success as much as anyone has. Why shouldn't you succeed? You should. And you can.
The year 2005 can be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest year of your life. It starts today.
Set your goals.
Happy New Year!
