Summary: Here's an exercise that works to make a solid declaration—to yourself—about your goals and resolutions any time of any year.
Last week, I got a little surprise in the mail: A nondescript envelope scrawled in my own handwriting and containing a 3-by-5 card with just a couple of bullet points. It took me a second to recognize what I was looking at, but when I did, I smiled.
You see, last year, I participated in an exercise around the new year. A group of us gathered to write down everything we wanted to get rid of in our lives and everything we wanted to be open to in 2009. We burned the card that listed the negatives in a symbolic gesture of release. Then, to signify invitation, we put the card with the positives—those things we wanted to bring into our lives—in an envelope that we addressed to ourselves. The cards were mailed to us at the start of 2010 to let us review how far we'd come in embracing what we wanted to embrace.
This is the second time I've participated in such an exercise, and I highly recommend it to anyone who's interested. ... How are your goals coming along this first week of the new year?
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Showing posts with label New Year's Resolutions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New Year's Resolutions. Show all posts
Jan 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
Summary: Here is my personal list of New Year's resolutions for this year, using the method I outlined for you earlier this week. Where is YOURS?
HAPPY NEW YEAR! *blaring noisemaker* Isn't it great to ring in 2010 and count all the things you're grateful to have in your life? No matter who—or where—you are, you can do this and smile.
One thing that often wipes that smile right off of someone's face is facing the dreaded tradition of the New Year's resolution. It's often dreaded, however, only because most of the people who make resolutions don't keep them. One stat says that merely 12% of those who make resolutions attain the goals they've laid out for themselves in those resolutions. That's not a lot of resolve!
The same source purports that this small number rises at least 10% when resolutions are made public. So, let's get to it! I'll start (and you follow).
Resolved:
1. To work with web developer Stephen Parker & complete packaging of my online e-course "Speak YOUR Truth" by the end of January
2. To conduct market research per the direction of marketing expert Ed Erickson, beginning with the creation of a list of organizations in my niche that hire speakers to be drafted by February, with next steps plotted thereafter
3. To practice better sleep hygiene by continuing use of relaxation CD at night, discontinuing TV & snacks after 9 p.m., & setting my alarm for 30 mins. earlier than usual beginning this week!
The key to really attaining your goals (and mine) is to keep the momentum going by setting new mile-markers along the way after each small one is met. Reassessing deadlines to make them more realistic is also helpful when necessary—just as is pushing yourself to meet the original deadline and accepting the need to extend it as recognized. Remember that, like with anything, balance is key.
Good luck! And may you have a fortunate 2010.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR! *blaring noisemaker* Isn't it great to ring in 2010 and count all the things you're grateful to have in your life? No matter who—or where—you are, you can do this and smile.
One thing that often wipes that smile right off of someone's face is facing the dreaded tradition of the New Year's resolution. It's often dreaded, however, only because most of the people who make resolutions don't keep them. One stat says that merely 12% of those who make resolutions attain the goals they've laid out for themselves in those resolutions. That's not a lot of resolve!
The same source purports that this small number rises at least 10% when resolutions are made public. So, let's get to it! I'll start (and you follow).
Resolved:
1. To work with web developer Stephen Parker & complete packaging of my online e-course "Speak YOUR Truth" by the end of January
2. To conduct market research per the direction of marketing expert Ed Erickson, beginning with the creation of a list of organizations in my niche that hire speakers to be drafted by February, with next steps plotted thereafter
3. To practice better sleep hygiene by continuing use of relaxation CD at night, discontinuing TV & snacks after 9 p.m., & setting my alarm for 30 mins. earlier than usual beginning this week!
The key to really attaining your goals (and mine) is to keep the momentum going by setting new mile-markers along the way after each small one is met. Reassessing deadlines to make them more realistic is also helpful when necessary—just as is pushing yourself to meet the original deadline and accepting the need to extend it as recognized. Remember that, like with anything, balance is key.
Good luck! And may you have a fortunate 2010.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2010
Dec 30, 2009
TRULY SPEAKING: Resolving to Keep Your Resolutions (Really)
Summary: Today, we take a look at some of the history of New Year's traditions, like making (not breaking) resolutions. And we measure real ways to make our own resolutions work.
This week's vocabulary word is resolution. And this week (if you're anything like me—and millions of people throughout the world) you'll be making some resolutions of your own. But why do we even participate in this tradition in the first place? Click here to read an article by Goals Guy Gary Ryan Blair on the history of New Year's traditions. Then read on in this post to get a little insight into your own motivations this year!
There's a formula that's tried and true for not only setting resolution-type goals, but also keeping them. And it starts with:
Step #1: Make a resolution that's truly just for YOU. If your neighbor's lawn has looked nicer than yours since the day you've moved in, don't resolve to put in more hours of yard maintenance just to keep up the friendly rivalry. DO resolve to dedicate yourself to creating a lovelier lawn so that you and your family can enjoy the outdoors together. If your motivation comes from without rather than within, it's sure to fizzle out quickly.
Step #2: Think both long-term and short-term. When planning your resolutions, it's okay to write out your long-term goal, like "maintain a healthier lawn" or "lose 30 pounds." But be specific by setting deadlines and designating smaller steps to take, too. "Fertilize this spring and edge the yard with each mow this summer to maintain a healthier lawn" makes for a more realistic and complete goal. The same goes for "meet with the gym's personal trainer this month to establish a program to lose 30 pounds by year's end." (You'll know how realistic your specific goals are by the way they make you feel: If you feel energetically sapped or otherwise negative just thinking about them, you definitely need to rethink your goals—as well as your motivation for setting them. If, however, you feel motivated after reading your new resolutions, you're on the right track!)
Step #3: Accept yourself where you are NOW. Whether you put them down in writing, record them vocally or just keep them in your head, this goes from the moment you start drafting your resolutions to each and every step along the path to meeting them—or resolving them, you might say. You can't make change if you don't admit your starting point. Likewise, you can't keep momentum going to exact that desired change if you spend all your energy beating yourself up for not being farther ahead than you are.
If you're brave enough, practice your goal-setting here! Don't worry: I'll be joining you on Friday, sharing my list. After all, it doesn't matter whom we tell; only we can keep ourselves accountable.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
This week's vocabulary word is resolution. And this week (if you're anything like me—and millions of people throughout the world) you'll be making some resolutions of your own. But why do we even participate in this tradition in the first place? Click here to read an article by Goals Guy Gary Ryan Blair on the history of New Year's traditions. Then read on in this post to get a little insight into your own motivations this year!
There's a formula that's tried and true for not only setting resolution-type goals, but also keeping them. And it starts with:
Step #1: Make a resolution that's truly just for YOU. If your neighbor's lawn has looked nicer than yours since the day you've moved in, don't resolve to put in more hours of yard maintenance just to keep up the friendly rivalry. DO resolve to dedicate yourself to creating a lovelier lawn so that you and your family can enjoy the outdoors together. If your motivation comes from without rather than within, it's sure to fizzle out quickly.
Step #2: Think both long-term and short-term. When planning your resolutions, it's okay to write out your long-term goal, like "maintain a healthier lawn" or "lose 30 pounds." But be specific by setting deadlines and designating smaller steps to take, too. "Fertilize this spring and edge the yard with each mow this summer to maintain a healthier lawn" makes for a more realistic and complete goal. The same goes for "meet with the gym's personal trainer this month to establish a program to lose 30 pounds by year's end." (You'll know how realistic your specific goals are by the way they make you feel: If you feel energetically sapped or otherwise negative just thinking about them, you definitely need to rethink your goals—as well as your motivation for setting them. If, however, you feel motivated after reading your new resolutions, you're on the right track!)
Step #3: Accept yourself where you are NOW. Whether you put them down in writing, record them vocally or just keep them in your head, this goes from the moment you start drafting your resolutions to each and every step along the path to meeting them—or resolving them, you might say. You can't make change if you don't admit your starting point. Likewise, you can't keep momentum going to exact that desired change if you spend all your energy beating yourself up for not being farther ahead than you are.
If you're brave enough, practice your goal-setting here! Don't worry: I'll be joining you on Friday, sharing my list. After all, it doesn't matter whom we tell; only we can keep ourselves accountable.
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
Dec 28, 2009
WORD OF THE WEEK: Resolution Twenty Ten
Summary: As the year—and the decade—draws to a close, we can look ahead to 2010. Making resolutions is just one way to do this. What exactly does this word mean?
This week, we'll close out the year 2009 and the first decade of the new millennium. News forums all over the globe are already looking back on changes we made together as ever-evolving people on a forever-changing planet. And now is the time when, collectively and individually, we begin to look forward into our future in a number of ways.
The most common means of doing this as individuals is by setting New Year's Resolutions. We'll examine the tradition, itself, a little more deeply later this week. But for now, let's take a look at the word resolution.
With a number of definitions, resolution (in this case) means "a firmness of resolve," or "a declaration." In other words, we declare to ourselves and the world—but firstly and most importantly to ourselves if we really want to succeed—that we are going to meet the goals we've set for ourselves this year. We resolve to lose 10 pounds by spring or to drink 6 glasses of water each day. We are resolute, or steadfast, in our determination to do so.
Resolution (RES - o - LOO - shun) is a noun that entered the English language in the 14th century (that's 700-some years ago now, if you're counting) that has a number of other definitions, all similar in nature. (As usual, if you share your worldly wisdom of these "other definitions" here, you will receive high praise.)
In a couple of days, we'll look at exactly why we set resolutions for each new year and how such a tradition came to be. But until then, I personally resolve to make my own list of 2010 resolutions that I'll share for you on New Year's Day. What about YOU?
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
This week, we'll close out the year 2009 and the first decade of the new millennium. News forums all over the globe are already looking back on changes we made together as ever-evolving people on a forever-changing planet. And now is the time when, collectively and individually, we begin to look forward into our future in a number of ways.
The most common means of doing this as individuals is by setting New Year's Resolutions. We'll examine the tradition, itself, a little more deeply later this week. But for now, let's take a look at the word resolution.
With a number of definitions, resolution (in this case) means "a firmness of resolve," or "a declaration." In other words, we declare to ourselves and the world—but firstly and most importantly to ourselves if we really want to succeed—that we are going to meet the goals we've set for ourselves this year. We resolve to lose 10 pounds by spring or to drink 6 glasses of water each day. We are resolute, or steadfast, in our determination to do so.
Resolution (RES - o - LOO - shun) is a noun that entered the English language in the 14th century (that's 700-some years ago now, if you're counting) that has a number of other definitions, all similar in nature. (As usual, if you share your worldly wisdom of these "other definitions" here, you will receive high praise.)
In a couple of days, we'll look at exactly why we set resolutions for each new year and how such a tradition came to be. But until then, I personally resolve to make my own list of 2010 resolutions that I'll share for you on New Year's Day. What about YOU?
© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2009
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