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Hurrah!!!

 

 

New Year’s resolutions are famously short lived, lasting only a few days or a few weeks. Rather than totally give up on resolutions, use smart strategies to build your confidence. The beginning of a new year just feels like the right time to make changes and start going in the right direction.

This is the final strategy in this series for cultivating self-confidence with your New Year’s resolutions

5. Hurrah! I did it! Give yourself the pat on the back that you deserve every time you keep your resolution, keep going in the right direction for 2012 and maintain your changes. Acknowledge the importance of your actions, even if it is only a small action each day. Small is good every day, so you can build on your successes.

Feel the satisfaction of your achievements in keeping your resolutions. Feel just a little bit slimmer. Feel just a little bit stronger from your exercise. Feel just a little bit more generous when you compliment a friend.

Don’t belittle your early efforts at making a change and think that it is not good enough or not significant enough. If you put down your first efforts, you will quickly give up. Reward every little bit and the “little bits” will quickly accumulate to something you are truly proud of.

The appreciation you give yourself provides an enormous boost to your confidence.

What is your intention?

New Year’s resolutions are famously short lived, lasting only a few days or a few weeks. Rather than totally give up on resolutions, use smart strategies to build your confidence. The beginning of a new year just feels like the right time to make changes and start going in the right direction.

I’ll post one important strategy each day over the first 5 days of 2012 to help you be successful with your resolutions and build your self-confidence. Come back tomorrow for the fifth strategy.

4. Do you really want it! Or is it a “should”?

If the resolution you are making to change something in your life is a “should” in your mind, such as “I should exercise this year,” “I really should give up sweets,” then I guarantee it won’t happen. Why?

“Shoulds” are externally imposed rules, even if you are doing the imposing on yourself, so they have no real lasting power to produce change. “Shoulds” are the parental rules we internalize. Then the inner child can rebel, only keep the resolution for a while and quickly succumb to excuses and reasons to disregard the resolution.

You have to want the result that your resolution will create more than you want the old behavior. The desire to be slimmer has to outweigh the desire for chocolate, pun intended. The desire to be more generous this year has to be more rewarding than selfish desires.

Get in touch with your true desires, your wants, to build your self-confidence.

Changes Ahead

New Year’s resolutions are famously short lived, lasting only a few days or a few weeks. Rather than totally give up on resolutions, use smart strategies to build your confidence. The beginning of a new year just feels like the right time to make changes and start going in the right direction.

I’ll post one important strategy each day over the first 5 days of 2012 to help you be successful with your resolutions and build your self-confidence. Come back tomorrow for the fourth strategy.

3. Do you have real intention? This is the real power of change. This is your inner purpose and determination thatmakes something happen. Think back on times whenyou had an intention, even if it was something usual like the intention to go grocery shopping or the intention to go to work.

Notice how intention feels in those situations, when you know in your heart that you really are going to DO something. This is what you need to create to back up your New Year’s resolutions with the commitment muscle.

Having intention will over-ride the “I don’t feel like it” excuse that sabotages your resolution and intention will overcome procrastination.

Remember to refresh your intention frequently by visiting and revisiting exactly why you made this resolution.