We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
Recently, someone asked me if I had made any New Years resolutions. They wanted to know, "are you having any success?"
In fact, yes, I had written down LOTS of things I wanted to accomplish in the New Year. There were places I wanted to visit, new habits I wanted to create, other habits I wanted to break and routines I wanted to establish.
Here is part of my New Year Resolutions / Goals list (in no particular order):
Become a morning person
Give up diet soda 90% of the time
Read one book a week
Organize closets
Clean out email box
Write a book
Walk dogs daily
Plan and take a SpaceA family vacation
Run a 10k
As for my success in each of these areas, I'm taking baby steps and working to stay focused. I've had some ups and downs, but Im determined to keep going.
Some of the things on my list are easier to accomplish than others. I've been pretty successful at giving up diet soda 90% of the time, but on the other hand becoming a morning person is proving to take much more effort. I'm currently wrestling with the idea of having two cups of coffee to help with process.
What are you working towards in 2013?
Here are 5 action steps to get us moving towards creating new, positive habits in 2013!
- Make a list of habits you want to create – Keep your list to the most important things needed to accomplish your short and long term life plan goals. Create a Vision Board, adding the list along with images to inspire you to success.
- Determine why it is important – Clarifying why you want to change a habit can give you the motivation to start and continue the journey when times get tough and when life gets in the way.
- Create an action plan – Write down the detailed steps to accomplish each of the items on your list. Use an App like Evernote or even an old fashioned notebook.
- Tell someone – Sharing your journey with a friend, neighbor, mom, husband, sister will give you accountability. You can even ask one of them to be your accountability partner. You might consider starting a blog about your journey or sharing the process with your close friends on Facebook.
- Decide to stick with it for 30 days – I read you can create a new habit in 21 days, but to break a habit could take a lot longer. Try your new habit for 30 days and then determine if you want to keep it around!
Changing a behavior is a big challenge. It takes personal discipline and the ability to overcome obstacles along the way. But you can do it! Lets encourage each other as we move forward into 2013 and make it an awesome, joyful year!
Related articles:
New Deployment New You
Make New Habits Permanent – American Heart Association
