Everyone starts the New Year’s with the best intentions. Determined to make changes to improve their lives in significant ways. And what happens? Most of us fail miserably. Instead of aiming for the moon, we need to undertake small, attainable goals. Like practicing self-care 15 minutes a day (which many have remarked is difficult enough).
Breaking the change into smaller steps can make it easier to achieve. For example, if someone wants to lose 50 pounds this year, start with losing 1-2 pounds each week. To do this, a person has to reduce their daily calorie intake by 500 calories each day or increase their activity to burn an extra 500 calories a day. Doesn’t this sound less daunting? By changing how we think about our goals, we can improve our motivation and persistence.
Likewise, it’s important to set our daily attention on what we want to do different. When we get up in the morning, spend 5 minutes visualizing the desired change and let it be known that “Today I will make this happen.” Once the intention is set, go about the day normally. Remember, life responds to what we put our attention and intention on.
Finally, if we get off track, don’t become self-critical. Since what we think about expands, this only leads to feeling worse and diminishing motivation and persistence. Instead, use this as a learning opportunity to re-evaluate what may need to be done and re-calibrate the next step. Each moment affords a new choice. Success is only a step away.
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