As we usher in 2017, it’s also a time for us to set some New Year resolutions that we may want to achieve in the coming months.
New Year’s resolutions however are notorious for being easy to make but not so easy to attain or complete.
In order to avoid making it an exercise in futility, perhaps you should focus on making your New Year’s resolutions a reality, by looking at resolutions differently.
Be realistic in what you can achieve
There are certain things that are beyond your control so please don’t include these in your list of resolutions for 2017. Think hard about what you can actually achieve through focus, dedication and most importantly your desire to make a change in your life. These are the things that should be on your list.
Be specific on what you want to achieve
Apart from writing down your resolutions, you should also include details on how to achieve those goals. For example, if your resolution is to improve your results in school or college, what should you do to accomplish that? Perhaps you will need to spend more time on revision each day. If your New Year’s resolution is about career development, what are the possible ways to attain it? It could mean being prepared to work longer hours or willing to take on more projects.
Be aware of the challenges you’ll face
The next step you will need to take is to think about the challenges that you will face in achieving each of your resolutions. If your New Year’s resolution has repeatedly come up short in the past, at least now you know what the challenges are so that in 2017 you can have a clear plan of action to overcome those challenges. For example, if your resolution is to lose a certain amount of weight, the challenges are obviously a bad diet and lack of exercise so overcoming those challenges will require you to make hard choices on deciding what to eat and how often to go to the gym.
Be ready to break it down
If your resolution seems to be “too big” to become a reality, fret not. Going back to the example of losing weight, making the decision to eat healthier food and joining a gym will be the first step. The next step is to break them down, for example, by choosing to eat one healthy meal a day and by going to the gym at least once a week. Once you get into a rhythm, you can start to increase the number of healthy meals and gym sessions.
Most importantly, remember that your resolutions are meant to be the things that are truly important to you, so don’t set them based on what other people think you should do.
Finally, all the best for 2017 and Happy New Year from all of us at SarawakYES!
This is a weekly column by SarawakYES! – an initiative driven by Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd and supported by Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM) Sarawak – to provide advice and stories on the topics of education and careers to support Sarawakians seeking to achieve their dreams. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
This article first appeared on The Borneo Post, visit this link: http://bit.ly/2hLP9tz
