Driving Your New Year Resolutions

Posted by Angela on January 4, 2012 in Angela Whitlock, Blog

1. 1. Get rid of all the old resolutions that have been haunting you for years and you’ve never achieved,  self awareness is everything, and that feeling of having failed before you started is not great.




2. 2. Think of your resolutions like learning to drive a car and use the same process because it works, remember your first step was to decide what the outcome was e.g. driving a car




3. 3. Then, you found  out who or what could help you e.g. who else drove, where could you get lessons, who’s car could you use. You didn’t just write it down and expect it to happen, you made it happen
4. 4.Next you booked time with the people that could help you e.g. you probably booked driving lessons or roped the family into teaching you, so who can help you with your resolution




5. 5.Next, you  allowed yourself to learn and make mistakes e.g. the first time you stalled the car at traffic lights you didn’t walk away and say ‘never again’, you probably felt embarrassed for a while then you got in the car again. Pick yourself up and dust yourself down and learn from the obstacles.




6. 6.Remember when you were learning to drive it’s the small steps that made the difference. e.g. the more you practiced, the more lessons and the closer you got to your goal.




7. 7.Then you probably got the date booked e.g. you knew exactly when you wanted to take your driving test by. So be realistic, when do you want to achieve something by, and what does it look like at that point.




8. 8.You probably imagined and dreamt and talked to everyone about what you would feel like to have achieved your goal e.g. what you were going to do when you could drive a car. I’m sure you imagined all the places you would drive to, the freedom it would give you, get those feelings building around your resolution. If you can’t imagine being focussed when you are eating your Easter Eggs then you may be lacking some momentum to get you through the first 100 days.




9. 9.Throughout this process the thought of driving excited you so make sure your resolutions excite you, add value to your life or benefit you in some way. Going to the gym may be the dullest thing you’ve heard of but getting fit so you can do the Race For Life in May could be just the twist your resolution needs.




10. 10.Finally, make sure the resolution is yours and no-one else’s – accountability is everything e.g. if someone else was pushing you to drive and not you, it was a lot less likely to happen because it was hard work. It’s the same with the top 4 resolutions most people have, lose weight, stop smoking, save more or spend less. They need to be your drivers and no-one else’s, get yourself back in the driving seat..

So how do you make your New Years Resolutions sticky?  Own them, take small planned steps, overcome the setbacks and keep focussed. Good luck in 2012!