Happy New Year!\u00a0 I personally love the optimism of a new year, getting a new calendar, and starting a new school semester. It\u2019s a blank slate and perfect motivation to leave the old behind.<\/p>\n
According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, The Top\u00a0 New Year\u2019s Resolutions<\/a> follow into the following broad categories:<\/p>\n The middle of January is just around the corner. How many resolutions have you kept?<\/p>\n When I look at my calendar I can see that I haven\u2019t met my goal to walk 20 minutes every evening with my dogs but<\/u> I have taken walks on more days than I \u2018ve missed! I consider that<\/u> an accomplishment and that makes me feel encouraged.<\/p>\n In the spirit of encouraging you, here are a few things I\u2019ve learned about New Year\u2019s Resolutions and goal setting.<\/p>\n How our brains work:<\/p>\n In an article in MIT News titled \u201cBrain Researchers Explain Why Old Habits Die Hard<\/a>\u201d, our brains simplify routines until they become automatic. (For example, when you are driving somewhere and realize you\u2019re on \u201cautopilot\u201d.) When we want to break habits, or create new ones, our brains kick into gear and have to work overtime!<\/p>\n How long does it take to form a new habit? Two \u2013 three weeks? Sixty-six days<\/a>? New goals and habits take consistency, tenacity, and determination to gain traction.<\/p>\n My coworker had this posted above his desk:<\/p>\n \u201cGoals are S.M.A.R.T.: Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, and Time-Related.\u201d (This is adapted from a paper written by George T. Doran[i]<\/a>.<\/em>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Instead of simply resolving the \u201cSpend More Time with God\u201d, a rounded out goal becomes:<\/p>\n \u201cThis year I want to invest time with the Lord through daily Bible reading, through fellowship at Bible study, and listening to Christian music while I\u2019m driving.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Break your resolution \/ goal to spend more time with God down into steps like:<\/p>\n Goal 1 – Download a Bible app for my Smartphone or Tablet<\/p>\n Goal 2\u00a0– Sign-up to attend a church Bible study on Wednesday night with a friend<\/p>\n Goal 3\u00a0– Preset my radio stations to Christian stations<\/p>\n Suppose your goal is to exercise more. Here are some ways to break down this resolution \/ goal:<\/p>\n Goal 1 – Plan a realistic step goal (the recommended daily goal is 10,000 steps). Once you reach that goal consistently, add 1,000 more steps.<\/p>\n Goal 2\u00a0– Walk for 15 minutes at lunch with your coworker. She can keep you accountable and you\u2019ll both appreciate the break.<\/p>\n Goal 3\u00a0– Keep comfortable walking shoes close at hand like in your car or beside the door. You\u2019ll be prepared to take advantage of sunny afternoons!<\/p>\n An important part of resolutions, establishing new habits, and setting goals is to understand what motivates<\/em> us.<\/p>\n Making the most of our social media so that it is an asset to your lives and not a liability can be just 3 easy steps.<\/p>\n I understand that there are obstacles to accomplishing goals. Our brains want to return to old habits, and the world fights to maintain the status quo<\/em>. On my journey with New Year\u2019s Resolutions, establishing new habits, and setting new goals, I\u2019ve hit my share of bumps in the road.<\/p>\n Sometimes we have little control of our home, school, or work environment. \u00a0It is especially difficult to establish new habits when people or circumstances are actively<\/em> working against you. Please remember that the Lord is with you, no matter what!\u00a0 In the end, you need to make choices for your well-being, health, and growth. Pray for wisdom about what is within your realm of control.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned that things within my realm of control include: my attitude towards people and circumstances, what I accept<\/em> as truth from what other people say, and the people I choose to spend time with when I socialize.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve failed in resolutions because of extreme black-and-white thinking. I\u2019d set a goal of reading 5 chapters in my Bible every day. The first time I didn\u2019t meet that goal I\u2019d call myself a failure and give up completely.<\/p>\n I learned a lot from watching my young nieces as they figured out how to walk. They wobbled on their chubby legs as they learned to balance, they fell on their rear ends, and sometimes they cried. But they kept at it!<\/p>\n Keep moving in the right direction \u2013 even if it\u2019s only baby steps for now.<\/p>\n Every month my women\u2019s magazine subscription arrives, and with it are glowing promises. Three steps to a clean home! Lose ten pounds this weekend! Relationship success guaranteed! Each of these titles has the promise of immediate results with a minimum of effort.<\/p>\n Always take promises of immediate results with a grain of salt. The offer of losing ten pounds in one weekend can come at a high price \u2013 dehydration, dizziness, and potential damage to your digestive tract. Inevitably, that weight will come back because no steps were taken to ensure long term change!<\/p>\n In conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n The laws of physics say that every action has an equal and opposite reaction \u2013 and this can also take place in our lives. When we start making changes, there will be resistance. Don\u2019t fear that resistance, though. Lean into it, face it head on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Footnotes<\/strong><\/p>\n [i]<\/a> Doran, G. T. (1981). “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management’s goals and objectives”. Management Review. AMA FORUM. 70<\/strong> (11): 35\u201336.<\/p>\n Featured image from [http:\/\/staastao.com\/articles\/why-most-people-hate-setting-goals\/<\/a>]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Happy New Year!\u00a0 I personally love the optimism of a new year, getting a new calendar, and starting a new school semester. It\u2019s a blank slate and perfect motivation to leave the old behind. According to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, The Top\u00a0 New Year\u2019s Resolutions follow into the following broad categories: Lose Weight\/Healthier Eating … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25747,"featured_media":11645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9,433,1084],"tags":[6929,6930,6931,2297,6968,6969],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11644"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25747"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dustoffthebible.com\/Blog-archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nWhat you can do to make your resolution\u00a0happen<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nSet goals<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Reverse engineer your goal into small manageable\u00a0steps<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nUnderstand why<\/u> you want to accomplish this goal<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nMake the most of social media<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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\nSome things that can make real change difficult<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\nCan you change your environment?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nThe danger of black-and-white thinking<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nThe danger of immediate gratification.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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