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New Year’s Resolutions

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It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone. With a new year, comes New Year’s resolutions, that sometimes long list of goals that we’d like to accomplish in the new year.

Goals may come in the form of verbal lists, written lists – or simply mental notes. When thinking about New Year’s resolutions, it’s easy to get caught up in hopeful desires, which seem to come with good intentions, but may not be realistic.

It is important to keep goals realistic, attainable and in perspective. Otherwise, after the initial celebration fades, reality sets in and being able to accomplish your goals may seem overwhelming.

No matter what habits you have developed, there are ways to break with those negative patterns. So before taking action toward your goals, you may expect to feel motivation. However, if you wait until you are fully motivated to begin, you could be setting yourself up for failure. Keep in mind that all too often the goals we tend to create are sometimes impossible given our lifestyle, career or family life.

When you think about your New Year’s resolutions, be honest with yourself about what you really want and break things down into small steps that you are not only able to accomplish, but can manage. It can be disappointing when we begin to work toward our goals and then realize we have created goals that may be too high to attain. We then might become discouraged and give up on our goals altogether.

SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND IN 2017:

• Create goals that have meaning to you and not to anyone else: Your goals should be what you really want to achieve, not what you want to work on.

• Set realistic goals: When you make your goals, keep in mind the demands of career and family life.

• Learn from past mistakes: When you make a mistake, ask yourself what you can learn from it.

• Stay away from all-or-nothing resolutions and begin with baby steps: Instead of saying I won’t drink sodas, make a decision to drink less of them.

Happy New Year!

By Bernie Dotson