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It’s that time of year again when we think we should finally start that diet, start dating again or get the kind of relationship we really want but don’t think is possible. Forget all these goals you start but don’t finish or are too scared to even write down. No more! This coming year, we’re making your goals happen and your New Year’s Resolutions stick!
How? I can’t say I’m the expert, but I’ve created 5 easy steps below to accomplish your goals and will personally join you in this journey. Looking back at 2011, I did create some awesome things like having my band Apocalipstick play two mini tours. One was across Cali and another in Arizona with our favorite band, The Dollyrots. I also launched my online boutique, Haute Republic, got engaged to my soulmate, started leading introductions to personal development seminars, and have a new comp plan and position at my day job. Not without setbacks, but also not too shabby for one year. But I wanna blow 2012 out so let’s do this…
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Step 1: Complete The Past Year
Before you can even begin creating what your New Year will be, you gotta clear out and get complete with this past year. What happened in 2011 or before that you didn’t like? Who did you wish you didn’t date? What mistakes did you make? What failures did you have? Do you not like your job, your school, your relationship, your family, your hair? Answer all these questions and more honestly. Then just get it.
You don’t need to get depressed about it, just really get it. Be with everything the year was and wasn’t. Is there any other way the past could be? Will it do you any good to dwell on the past that you can’t change? Exactly! You’re human so forgive yourself! Forgive others and the universe. Everything is and was just the way it’s supposed to be. Might as well since there’s no other way for it to be, right? So OWN IT! Don’t blame yourself but own you made that mistake, own your responsibility in a failed relationship or project, own your current weight, your current job, and your life. If there was a relationship that wasn’t great, make a phone call and complete what happened to move on. Just let them say everything they need to in order to be complete and you do the same and forgive. Now that the crap from last year is cleared out, you’ve made room to start on step 2.
via Little Miss Momma
Step 2: Brainstorm Your Perfect New Year
Go big and crazy with thinking up your perfect New Year! If you can’t even let yourself go to that happy place then go back to step 1. Always feel free to email me if you need help with that or any of these steps. It’s just brainstorming and dreaming so anything goes! Think bigger than you’ve ever thought before! What’s your dream career, dreamboat, dream charities, and dream projects? What are things you’d love to accomplish? What are things you’d love to do daily, weekly, or monthly in the New Year? Really tell that negative little voice in your head that says “you can’t do that” to shove it and let yourself dream BIG! When you stand in December next year and look back, what do you want to see you’ve accomplished? What results do you want? Who do you want to be?
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Step 3: Edit and Create Measureable Goals
Now that you have a picture of your big life next year, break them down into actual goals. Make sure these goals are challenging and still realistic. For example, if you want to be a big rockstar but don’t even know how to play an instrument, make a goal that will lead you in that direction. Try goals like “take drum lessons” or “start a band” instead of “millionaire rockstar in 2012.”
via Rockett St George
Step 4: Create a structure to Make It Happen
Hooray! You’ve created awesome goals you care about and with measures to gauge your success! But after this point is where most New Year’s Resolutions fail. Sure you can make these goals, and be gung ho for the first week, but somehow it dies off. By February you’re all “resolution what?” and cancelling your gym membership to save money, your other resolution. I know. I’ve done it too.
So what can you do to keep your commitments for the New Year alive? Let’s go ahead and create a structure to make it happen! Take your first goal and brainstorm ways you can make sure you accomplish it. If it’s a big goal, break it down into little goals and schedule it out for the year. For example, if your goal is to be healthy and fit and your measure is to be a certain weight and have run a marathon then make and schedule mini goals towards that. Mark dates you want to accomplish getting a trainer, a workout buddy, and running a half marathon. Then brainstorm how to acheive these mini goals and carve out time in your calendar when you’ll exercise habitually, make healthy food, and read up on the latest nutrition and exercise information.
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The best way to see your goals along with your milestone dates is to create a vision board. I’m not talking about a cheezy board with inspirational pictures and quotes although there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m talking about a cheezy board with inspirational pictures and quotes that really speaks to you and has your measurable mini goals and dates to accomplish them written down! You can always change and adjust these milestones, but it’s good to see your big goal in an inspiring way that helps keep you on track and shows you honestly where you’re at.
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The best structure you can give yourself is an accountability buddy. Choose a friend who also has New Year’s Resolutions to keep or a mentor who’s already successful doing something similar to what you want to accomplish. Let your buddy know your big goal and why it’s important to you. Then make a structure with this person or persons, like a daily or weekly phone call where you let them know your mini goals, measures, and whether you’ve accomplished them or not. No guilt here, just a way to keep yourself accountable to someone besides yourself. We’re always the first ones to sellout on ourselves. This is the same reasoning with having a gym buddy. When your alarm clock rings at 5 AM for your morning run you’d hit snooze five more times if it wasn’t for your buddy waiting outside, coffee in hand ready to workout.
Having a structure to share with your accountability buddy and/or mentor is great! But don’t stop there. Keep sharing your goals and commitments with everyone and anyone who will listen. When I decided to start my online boutique I told everyone, asked for ideas and opinions, took photoshoots etc. I told so many people that when life was getting busy as it always does and I pushed my goals to the side, I had tons of people asking me when my shop will be up. It was like a helpful, unofficial accountability reminder. Apocalipstick’s bassist and fellow successful lady, Wendy, texts daily affirmations to a group of friends. The more you share, the more real it gets for you and in the world.
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Step 5: Keep Going!
You have amazing, measurable commitments and a structure to make them happen. But life happens too. Days you don’t feel motivated, your buddy can remind you who you are, a big person with a big life! Anytime a commitment feels like a chore, look at your vision board and remind yourself of who and what you wanted to see standing there December next year. Get deeply connected with why you made that commitment in the first place. It’s not going to always be easy, but when you’re connected to who you are, well it’s easy to be yourself. In fact, you’re already there. Now just keep going!
I’d love to hear some of your New Year’s Resolutions and structures for making it happen! Please email me (abby@hauterepublic.com) or comment below. I’ll definitely be posting some of my goals, structures and journey through the New Year. Whatever we end up accomplishing or not is perfect. It’s the journey that counts and who we get to be while we strive for our goals. Plus, we’re already further ahead than last year’s forgotten resolutions =)
