How to go thru with a resolution (New Year's)

So you are having trouble figuring out what to do as a New Year's Resolution. Its a tradition that the world shares for the sake of self-progress. Here are a few articles that I will share to help you form good habits. Let's make a quick note that this also relates to forming good habits rather than just New Year's Resolutions.

Martin Rue wrote:

"I am not young enough to know everything." This Oscar Wilde quote is one of my favorites. Not just because it's a clever joke about young people often believing they know better, but because of the quality that it alludes to—one I believe is really important in being creative.
When we are younger, we tend to think we know much more than we actually do. As we grow up we become aware of two things: how much we still don't know and how lots of the stuff we did know is now constantly changing.

Eventually we reach the same conclusion as Oscar Wilde. This seems like a good thing—a more mature perspective of the true state of things—but we have to be careful not to lose a powerful quality with it.

The quality I'm referring to is the willingness to try.

We come to realize that projects we once thought would take a night actually take weeks. We learn that something always goes wrong. We know that there will be hidden complexities we're not expecting.

Knowing this isn't a bad thing, but it can change the attitude we had from our younger days when we'd say things like, "Screw it, I can build an OS in a weekend!" and then try and do it. It starts to become easier to talk ourselves out of big ideas.

The fact is everyone has more to learn, and in the scheme of things we all know nothing. But the last thing you want is for this to discourage you from trying. We learn best by trying, and if you start by looking for complexities and potential problems, trust me you'll find them, and you'll end up trying very little.

So let's not be young enough to know everything, but let's stay young enough to try anything. Maybe you'll create some awesome things, maybe you won't, but the experience of pushing yourself into those unknowns and learning from them is invaluable.

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5971937/stay-young-enough-to-try-anything?tag=inspiration

Whitson Gordon wrote:

2013 is on the horizon, and most of us are scrambling to make up a few New Year's resolutions that, frankly, we'll probably forget about in February. Here's how to create a resolution that actually sticks so you can better yourself this year.

10. Focus on One Resolution

One of the first mistakes people make is planning too many resolutions. The fewer things your brain has to deal with, the better, and you'll be able to focus all your motivation on one resolution, increasing the chances you'll succeed. Need ideas? Check out our top 10 easy-to-keep resolutions, or go for one of the five most popular resolutions and follow our guide to ensuring its success.

9. Get Someone to Hold You Accountable

Having an "accountability buddy" is an old, yet tried-and-true tip for sticking to your resolutions. Tell your goals to a few close family and friends who will be honest with you and keep you on the right track. Heck, if you're having trouble thinking of a good resolution, those buddies can actually help you pick one, too (since they know you best, faults and all). Don't go too overboard, though. Remember, sometimes sharing with too many people can hinder your accomplishments. Photo by Lululemon Athletica.

8. Set Ultra-Specific Goals

New Year's resolutions are often big and general, making them hard to attain. The more specific you can be, the easier it will be to reach that goal. "Lose weight" or "get in shape" is a bad resolution; "Lose 15 pounds by March" is a good one. Setting multiple specific goals throughout the year is good, too. That way, you always have something attainable to focus on that doesn't seem far off. Photo by Rob Ellis.

7. Piggyback Your Resolution with Existing Habits

If your resolution involves building small habits—like, say, flossing every day or taking daily vitamins—you can "piggyback" these habits with other, already-established ones. Stick your dental floss in your shower and floss during your shower, or put your vitamin jar inside your kitchen cupboard so you always remember to take them when you eat breakfast. The easier you can form the habit, the more likely it is to stick.

6. Give Yourself a Trial Run

Not every resolution is perfect out of the gate, so don't hold yourself to a poorly-formed goal if it just won't work. Give yourself a 30-day trial run to work out the kinks, where you can let yourself stumble a bit and tweak your goals to something better suited for success. Keep in mind that not all habits are formed in 21 days, as conventional wisdom says, so even after the trial run, give yourself time to sink into the habit before you start admitting defeat. Photo by John Kwan (Shutterstock).

5. Trick Your Mind

Resolutions are hard to keep without a sense of accomplishment. Having specific, gradual goals can help, but another trick is to play some mind games with yourself. The placebo effect can be pretty useful in keeping you motivated, even if you know you're using it on yourself. Focus on anything that makes you feel like you're succeeding. If you're trying to lose weight, eating from smaller plates will make you "feel" fuller, even if you're eating the same amount of food, for example. Do whatever you need to do to trick your mind and you'll be well on your way to success. Photo by mattza.

4. Visualize the End Result

As writer Rod Ebrahimi says, "focus on the carrot, not the stick". If you're having trouble staying motivated, focus on what you'll get from your end goal—whether that's feeling better at a lower weight, being able to impress your friends with your new guitar skills, or just being able to breathe now that you've quit smoking. Staying positive seems like common sense, but it can be hard when you're in the middle of a big plateau. Photo by Davidd.

3. Closely Measure Your Progress

If you've created specific goals, then getting positive reinforcement should be easy. Every time your each one of those goals—even if it's just a daily goal—mark it off on a checklist or calendar. You can even go a step further and use Seinfeld's "Don't Break the Chain" method of goal-setting, which is great for daily goals like "write every day" or "exercise 5 times a week." For other resolutions, try out one of our five favorite goal-tracking services to measure your progress.

2. Remind Yourself of Your Goals Every Day

If you're having trouble keeping your goals at the forefront of your mind, you can use one of any number of tricks to constantly remind yourself (besides tracking your progress). Set an alarm on your phone with a message of why you're doing this, record yourself on a webcam every day, or use dry erase markers to write your goals on your bathroom mirror.

1. Start Right Now

Why wait until New Year's Day? Whether you're reading this at the end of December or in the middle of July, start right now—even with small changes to prepare you for the big push—and you'll be one step closer to achieving your goals. There's no reason your goals need to start on January 1st, so call up those accountability buddies, jot down your milestones, and get started with that resolution right now. Photo by Ambernectar 13.

Photo remixed from file404 (Shutterstock).

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5971803/top-10-strategies-for-making-your-new-years-resolution-stick?tag=holidays

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