New Delhi, Jan 2: Over the years we’ve reduced the value of “resolutions” to mere statements we make at the beginning of every year.
We do this to challenge ourselves and to give more meaning to our lives, only to miserably fail within a few months. And it has become so normative to us to break these resolutions that we never question our inefficiency to follow through. Renowned Life and Business Coach, Sanjeet Ray, explains why this happens and what one can do about it:
1. Check the feasibility
The first and foremost key to a fool-proof resolution plan is to check the feasibility of the plan. In simple words this means to get a thorough reality check of the situation you’re currently in and the situation you want to push yourself to be at with this plan.
Start by questioning yourself with a big eWHY’. Why is it this goal important to you? Why do you want to start going to the gym? What makes you want take up piano lessons? Why do you want to start waking up at five in the morning daily? What about a vegan lifestyle fascinates you and why you want to make the switch? Why do you want to start a new vertical in your business venture?
Dig deeper within yourself to figure the true value behind these resolutions. Why is that goal so important to you and what benefits will you get from it. Introspect your answer carefully to understand how to place this goal of yours in your range of priorities. You may have multiple goals for 2020, arrange them in order of importance to establish what your top most priorities are.
2. Chart out a roadmap
Now that we’ve understood the emotional value behind our goals and have placed them in order of importance, start by charting out a roadmap to it.
Quantify your goal and give it a number; For example, if your resolution is to pick up on your writing habits, challenge yourself to write 12 pieces within the first 3 months, 15 pieces in the next 3 months and so on. Break the time-frame into sections and schedule your targets by evaluating your current capacity.
3. Check up your resources
Ask yourself the following questions:
What are the resources that you have?
What are the ones you can avail?
How much should your target be in order to make sure that you are logistically capable of carrying it out?
What have your previous patterns with this kind of activity or experience been like?
When you weigh all of these answers, you’ll understand how much you currently have to offer, how much more would you need to offer; and what would you have to do to harness that extra bit. Fill in the gaps to execute your goals and be successful at your resolutions.
4. Discipline is key
A lot of people feel that they don’t have enough discipline and that is why their resolutions fail. People say that January is the month where gyms are the most crowded however by the end of the year all of that crowd has disappeared and the gym is lighter again.
This crowd that disappears gradually as months go by is the one that took that resolution to be fit and accepted their defeat by not following through with their plans. It may seem like this crowd that stopped coming to the gym due to a lack discipline. However, in reality, they have simply not asked themselves the eWHY’. Which is why that first step is so important.
You will never be disciplined about your resolution. Unless you realise the value it holds, unless you realise the repercussions, you will not have the will to follow through. You need to determine in terms of worth, what it means for you to achieve this particular goal. Exactly how important is it for you and what is the price you will pay for not doing it? Once you have assessed that, you will pursue it diligently because now you know the exact value of this resolutions of yours.
While allotting targets to yourself, be reasonable. Understand your past patterns and study them. Why did you find it difficult to wake up early in the morning? Why do you end up staying late the previous night? What occupies your time at night and what shifts are feasible to make in your schedule to be able to sleep early and wake up early the next day? Don’t push yourself to achieve unrealistic standards.
The key is challenge your limits, but challenge them to a point where you can endure it.
