You made it through another year! That’s right, 2022 is here! So, what are you planning to do with it? Will you be Like most people who made a New Year’s Resolution and will soon break it? I asked myself the same question at the end of 2021, and it got me thinking. Why do so many people make New Year’s Resolutions and then break them? What is a New Year’s resolution? Why do we make them? Why do we break them? More importantly, how can we keep them? A New Year’s resolution is a promise that you make to yourself. It is a decision at the beginning of a New Year to start doing something positive or to stop doing something negative. You resolve to accomplish a personal goal, break an unhealthy habit, or achieve something that at one time may have seemed unattainable.
Research showed in 2020 that the top New Year’s resolutions were mostly fitness related. Exercising more, losing weight, saving money, eating more healthily, and reducing stress topped the list of resolutions. What is it about the New Year that makes most of us want to get in shape physically, mentally, and financially? It seems that most people see the New Year as some sort of second chance, an opportunity to hit the reset button. The first day of the year is a great time for people to change course and improve the quality of their lives. In our minds, it’s like we get a clean slate or a blank canvas to start over, and we get a brand new opportunity to get it right this time. Exercising more, losing weight, and eating better are all worthy pursuits, and we all know the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. So, why do so many fail at keeping their New Year’s resolutions, knowing all the benefits and value that would come from keeping them? Because knowing and doing are two totally different things.
The real reason most people fail is because they don’t have the proper mindset or a plan to support their New Year’s resolutions. Basically, they set themselves up to fail before they even have a chance to try to succeed. In LUV YOUniversity, we teach you to start with the mindset and then create a plan. We start inside and work our way out, so we build the inside mentality strong enough to produce the physical manifestation of what we desire on the outside. The mindset creates the atmosphere for the body to experience outside what was created on the inside first. Our Motto is “ You have to put the work in, for things to work out”. Mental exercise is hard work; it takes way more effort and energy to lift your mind, then it does to lift weights. The hardest thing to do is to master your own mind.
The greatest battle you will ever fight is with yourself and that battle will take place in your mind. That is why most people would rather work on the outside, because it’s easier, and you can see the results faster. But working on the outside is only surface work. It’s like having an expensive automobile body and a cheap engine. You wouldn’t put a GoKart engine in a brand new Rolls Royce body and try to drive -or would you? Actually, that’s exactly what most people are doing when they make these New Year’s resolutions to exercise more, lose weight, eat healthy, save money –blah, blah, blah. A healthy body and bank account start with a healthy mind. You need a formula for success that can be your guide.
I am happy to share my personal success formula. This formula is a process that will take you from the thought of change to an actual lifestyle change in 90 days. Everytime I have used it, I have had great success.
Formula for Success:
First step: Decide exactly what you want. There is power in a made up mind. We want to always start from a place of power, and making a decision is powerful. Take time to think about exactly what you want to achieve.
Second step: Write down what you want. Be clear and very specific. The more details the better. Act like you are ordering off the menu at a restaurant tailored to your personal taste and desire.
Third step: Create a deadline to complete your mission. Deadlines help us accomplish our goals; they help prioritize; they create urgency; they help you keep the promise you made to yourself.
Fourth step: Make a list of exactly what it will take for you to accomplish your desired goal. This step will require you to visualize what you wrote down in step number 2. It also may require that you do some research.
Fifth step: Organize your list into a plan. Include quantifiable milestones. If you decided to take a trip from Los Angeles to New York you wouldn’t just up and leave, would you? No. You would make a plan. Let’s call it your roadmap to success. How much will it cost to make this trip? How much money and how much time will it require for me to make a successful journey? Counting the cost is an important part of creating a successful plan. If you want to lose weight. How much does it cost to join a gym? How many days a week do you need to workout to lose the amount of weight you desire? Do you need to hire a personal trainer, or nutritionist? What time of the day will you fit it into your schedule?
Sixth step: Take action. Start implementing your plan. Don’t make any excuses. Be persistent.
Seventh step: Do something towards your goal everyday. You will accomplish your goals step-by-step and brick by brick. Always keep the ultimate vision in mind, but take it day by day. Decide that you will make one good decision at a time. The definition of success is simply getting or obtaining what you want. Every good decision is a success, and enough good decisions, back-to-back, equals you accomplishing your New Year’s resolutions successfully.