2011 - A New Horizon

Many people will be thinking about how to make this year better than last year and will probably even make a new year's resolution or two. They will be trying to change old habits, create new ones, work harder, find the "one", spend more time with family, earn more money, quit smoking, lose weight, and so many more aims that will probably be forgotten about before the first month is over.

The new year is a great time to review your past and plan for your future, but for any real change to occur there has to be a long term commitment. It is all good and well to write down a little wish list and get excited over it for a few days or a few weeks, but that's the easy part. It takes maybe 20 minutes of commitment to come up with a list of goals and ambitions for the next year. It takes a lot longer to achieve them, particularly if it is a lifelong habit you plan to change or improve.

Although twenty minutes is probably longer than many people spend reviewing their life and thinking about the future, it is not enough if you really want to become all that you can be. Unless you are a highly motivated and ambitious person that naturally jumps from success to success, you will have to continually review your position throughout the year. One big exciting change usually isn't enough to change our behaviors that we have taught ourselves over a period of many years. Just as we developed our current way of thinking over a long period of time, we have to develop our new way of thinking (to achieve the goals) over a long period of time also.

If you are truly committed to achieving your new year's resolution you will forget about calling it a new years resolution! It needs to be a constant living resolution that you are committed to achieving. This living resolution does not fade after January finishes, because it is alive and takes much more than a yearly review to survive.

Your living resolution must be reviewed, tested, and measured at least monthly or preferably weekly. Without continual adjustment and maintenance we just slip into the habits that we know and are comfortable with. Creating something new in our life will take effort and positive action on our part. Most people will fall off the horse along the way as it seems to be human nature to fall off the horse! We have to continually get back on the horse and continue on our way towards achieving what we set out to achieve.

Be unusual this year and make your new year's resolution a living resolution that remains a part of your life for longer than January.