Your Resolutions Are Only As Good As The Plan, In
Place, To Implement Them!
By Shabaka Ture
So you've made your "New Year Resolutions". That's
great! It is a good thing to decide to do something..
Especially if it will improve your life. The sad thing
is that most people we fail and never achieve the
resolutions they've made.
Just look at yourself, for example. How many
resolutions have you made over the years and how many
have you implemented? Not many, if any, right? I'm not
picking on you because the same is true for me. I have
made tons of resolutions over the years, and most have
never been implemented. Why is this?
Well the answer is easy, i didn't have a plan to help
me accomplish those resolutions. We all know the old
saying, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail"! It's
just that simple. It's easy to say I'm gonna do this, or
I'm gonna do that, but without a plan, your will NEVER
do it!!
Let's say, for example, that your resolution is to
lose weight. You say boldly, "I will lose 25 pounds this
year!" Yet, you continue to sit on the couch watching
TV, eating unhealthy, fattening foods and the only
exercise you do is walking from the living room to the
kitchen to get another can of pop! While on your way to
the kitchen you say to yourself, "I wish I could train
my cat to do this for me!"
It’s marvellous that you want to lose weight; it’s
marvellous that you have verbally stated that this your
intention (hopefully, you have written your goal(s) down
on paper, this is critical). But, again, if you don't
work out a plan to do it, it won't get done!
So, what is a plan? A plan is a methodology worked
out in advance for the accomplishment of an
objective/goal. A plan has three(3) major components. 1)
objective/goal, where you want to go (2) strategy- your
general idea on how to get there (3) tactics- your
specific ideas on how to get there.
For example, you want to lose weight, this is your
objective/goal. Your strategy would be to change your
diet and exercise more. Your tactics might be to talk to
a nutritionist, find out what foods are better for you
to eat. You may join a heath club and/or work out an
exercise regimen. A plan also must include a way to
evaluate your progress as you move towards your
objective/goal. Your plan must have deadlines.
You must write your plan down on paper. Don't think
your'e going to keep this all in your head. You want to
write your plan on paper so that you can refer to it
from time to time. I would suggest that you create a
special journal in which you keep your plan(s). I have
found that those "Essay Books" that you can find in any
of the "Dollar Stores" are great for this the notebooks
are extremely sturdy and will serve you well.
Now that you have your plan written down, it's time
to work your plan. I say that a plan is an inanimate
object, it can't do anything. . It is you that brings
the plan to life! The plan won't do you any good if you
just put the notebook on a shelf and let it collect
dust! But, if you look at the plan, everyday, even if
you don't act on it, at least it will give you something
to feel guilty about! Then it might inspire you to get
up and take action! So, make sure that you look at your
plan everyday.
Your attitude plays a crucial role in the success or
failure of your plan. I say that most of the "defeats"
we face in life is because of our negative attitudes. A
lot of us are defeated before we even begin because we
have a defeatist attitude!! We start saying "I can't do
it". If this is what you're saying, you're right, you
can't do it so you might as well just give up! Watch
what you say about yourself, to others and especially
to yourself! Stop the negative self talk NOW!!
The fact is, that you can do what ever you want to
do, you just need to get your mind right! You have to
replace all that negative self-talk with positive
self-talk. Look at yourself in the mirror every day and
declare, "I know I can do it, I will do it, and I know i
will be successful"! Get your mind right and watch what
happens.
Always start your journey with the end in mind. In
other words, focus on the "prize" at the end of the
journey!. Using the weight loss example, think about how
you will look and feel once the process is complete.
Visualize, in your mind, how your body will look and
allow all the emotions associated with this picture to
well up inside of you. This exercise is a powerful
motivator! Go to your mirror right now and say, "I am
not happy with what I see today and I am happy that I
decided to do something about it"!
Never start out on a project by talking about how
"hard" it is. That's negative self-talk and is a morale
buster! You know that you can't get anything in life
without some effort, this is a fact of life. Even the
pan-handler on the street has to, at least, extend their
hand and ask for money. Getting started may be
difficult, but know this, once you moving and keep
moving, the less difficult it becomes! Psychologists
have proven that if someone does something,
consistently, 21-30 days they will do it for the rest of
their lives! This is how habits are formed someone said
to me, "Oh, that doesn't work"! I replied, "How would
you know, you stop on day two"!
Do not share your plan with everybody because most
people are negative minded, we have been trained to be
this way. Some people will not only tell you that you
will never reach your goal, they will either consciously
or unconsciously put obstacles in your path! Make sure
you associate with positive minded people because they
will help you, even if it just with an encouraging word.
Remember this, you can do better and live better than
you think you can. But, without a plan that you are
faithfully executing with a positive attitude, you will
accomplish nothing. Look in the mirror and declare, "I
can accomplish what ever I set out to accomplish by
overcoming any obstacle that appears in my path. Because
I have a plan!"
I hope these words are helpful to you. If so, please
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Did you know that people who live an
action oriented life do things in a different manner?
Unlike ‘normal’ people, they are truly passionate about
what they are doing and they will do whatever it takes
because they want it bad........Read
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