Does the mere thought of thinking about a New Year's purpose make you tremble or does it give you a sense of hope for change in the year to come? January can be a time of reflection. Ideally, we should think about last year; remembering the last twelve months can help us learn from the experiences and renew both our priorities and objectives.
Do you avoid New Year's resolutions because your goals were not met the previous year? Do not falter. We already know that it is easier to renounce or not set any goal in life but the good, what is worth it, always requires effort, because the reward is incredibly better than doing nothing.
Maybe you have convinced yourself that you can not change your habits. So, what's the point of trying, you'll ask? How to leave the past to create a space for the possibilities of the future? Today we will try to give you a few tips so that your purposes come to fruition.
New Year's resolutions are an excellent way for our brain to focus on what it wants to achieve next year. The more time we spend reflecting and even writing down our goals, the more involved the brain will be in the process. Basically, you are recruiting the help of your brain and, fortunately for you, your brain is your strongest ally in achieving those goals.
Do not rely on will power, it is not the way to approach this process, because willpower arises from a part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex, which is easily overloaded and exhausted. What works much better, experts say, is to train other parts of the brain responsible for linking positive emotions to new habits and conditioning themselves to new behaviors.
Make this time of year help you create an environment that supports positive change and progress toward your goals. Let's go there!
- Write the purposes on paper
Even in the era of digital, we do not have to abandon physical support. Take a notebook or a paper and draw two columns In the column on the left, write the negative thoughts about you that you usually have in mind (eg, I am not able to play sports at all). Then, in the column on the right, write your opposite: a positive statement (ex: I am able to play sports 3 times a week). Once you are finished, read the list of positive thoughts and purposes. Spend your energy focusing on the positive. Your life can change if you wish. In fact, one study showed that simply putting your goals in writing increases the probability of achieving them by 42%.
- Be aware of negative thoughts
When a negative thought enters your mind, try to see yourself by putting it aside and not giving it any importance. Allowing negative thoughts to spin in your mind can be a nefarious habit. It takes energy to continue that swirl of negative thoughts. The basic thing is that you think about the amount of energy you need to feed those thoughts. It's a lot, right? Turn away the counterproductive thoughts and everything will go better.
- Spend your energy on things you can control
And, therefore, spend less energy (or none at all) on things you can not control. You can not control other people or what happened in the past. You can control your reactions to people and you can control what you do in the present moment. Allow yourself the space to create possibilities for the future by focusing on what you can do here and now. The future begins today.
- Create a weekly schedule
Based on the New Year's resolutions we have put on paper, create a weekly schedule now. Try to make daily activities a routine. Let that routine do the heavy lifting for you. To help make it easier for you, make copies of this weekly schedule and place them in the areas of the house that you spend very often. You will not forget what you have proposed to carry out.
- Share your goals with the family
You can schedule a weekly or monthly family reunion. Share the schedule with your most intimate family circle and have a conversation about your expectations. It can help you in two ways: first to share the experience of your purposes and as an incentive for them. Your family will also want to help you as much as possible.
- Build your goal with your successes
No matter how small the success. That's not important. Create the base with small increments of change and be happy with your progress. Have fun!
- Rewards Diary
If necessary, you can create a third table in your weekly or monthly goals with rewards or rewards for having reached the next small goal. Reward yourself with a book you're willing to read, go eat at your favorite restaurant ... always keeping an eye on the final goal. Feeling proud of the small steps -and awarding them a small prize- will lead us to achieve what we were looking for with more tranquility and less pressure. In addition, it will provide us with extra motivation.
- The environment is important
Your environment affects you, and can influence you positively or negatively. Family and friends help us to shape values and behaviors, so it is advisable to surround yourself with people who can give us a push, not drag us down, it is clear
- Beware
You must make yourself a priority, to be able to work at an optimal level in all areas of life. That means sleeping at least 7-8 hours each night, eating healthy and exercising. If you do not follow these guidelines, it will be more complicated for you to be able to carry all the weight of your day-to-day life plus your goals, without losing heart.
- Learn to say 'no'
No, it is not a negative word. Unlike. We must learn to say "no" to all those requests from others that will take away the time and space we need to take better care of ourselves and avoid exhaustion.
- What if I screw up?
When something does not go according to plan or we make a mistake, do not despair. As if it were a horse's fall while riding, get up, dust yourself and climb back up. Keep galloping. Do not punish yourself for an error. Learn from mistakes and keep going. Get moving.
