UXL Blog

We’ve almost wrapped up 2012, and 2013 is quickly approaching. Consequently, New Years resolutions are on many of our minds. Have you made any? If you haven’t, that’s okay. In fact, I think we tend to make resolutions just to feel better about ourselves, which isn’t the best strategy for resolving to make changes.

If you do decide to make resolutions for the coming year, I’d like you to keep a few things in mind:

1. Keep your resolutions attitude-oriented, not goal oriented. This isn’t to say you can’t make goals and strive to achieve them. However, bad habits are usually the result of an underlying attitude about life. In the same way, healthy lifestyles don’t appear out of thin air, but are a reflection of a good life outlook. If you find it hard to keep up with your resolutions, try resolving to maintain a certain attitude this year. Perhaps you tend to view things negatively. Or maybe you don’t like confronting problems head-on. Both of these attitudes result in behaviors that most of us try to avoid: laziness, procrastination, defeatist-thinking, inability to follow-through, etc. Negative behaviors such as these can be more successfully tempered if we get to the root of the problem by changing our attitudes.

2. Be realistic. “This year, I’m going to triple my income.” “For 2013, I won’t make a single mistake at work.” “Even though I’ve never done it before, I’m going to learn how to climb mountains and set the world record for time it takes to scale Mount Everest.”

If these are the types of resolutions you’re planning for the new year, you may want to avoid making resolutions altogether. Although growth comes from pushing yourself past your comfort zone, there is always a cap on how much is possible. Setting goals that live outside the realm of possibility will only discourage you.

Instead, set goals that are simple. If you would like to eat better, for example, it’s okay to start with small modifications to your diet. With anything, being successful with the small stuff will give you the momentum to move on to more difficult goals. After slow, steady progress, you’ll see dramatic changes. Which leads me to my final tip…

3. Life changes (resolutions included) work best as incremental steps. If you decide to start running, you’re not going to remain at 5 miles a day starting January. You’ll naturally become faster and able to run farther distances. Any life change should work in this way. Begin with an end-game in mind, and take small, manageable steps to get there.

If your attitude is positive, your goals realistic, and if you’ve implemented a step-by-step process, I think you’ll do great with making any changes you feel are needed in your life. Remember, it’s not a competition, it’s not about looking good to other people, it’s about you taking ownership of your life and your desires.

I’m so excited to keep up the work with you all as we head into 2013.

Happy New Year!

Tags: Career Coach Advice, How to Change Your Life, Life Coaching