Melbourne, December 27: Every year, thousands of people lurch to the finishing line of the year armed with their New Year’s Resolutions only to get to February and give up.
Author of Free From Fear, Andrew Hackett says New Year’s Resolutions are like taking putting a Band-Aid on broken leg.
“The problem with setting goals around New Years is many people expect this one moment to change their life, when they have not done any prep work to really implement changes into their life,” he said.
“That time of the year is a metaphorical reset button for so many. A chance to make changes, do something different, or to take a different path”.
However, research shows that only 8 to 12 per cent of people who set resolutions follow them through.
“This means most people are left feeling like they have failed, and this has significant impact on our self-belief.”
Yet, Andrew says, the problem lies in a society that is now so geared to instant gratification, that we’ve forgotten how to see that time and energy is needed to make any change in life.
“We are born into a purchasing style economy.
“If there is a problem in our life – we can buy a product and that is our solution. That how many see New year’s Resolutions – as a quick fix. It creates the perception the solutions outside of us,” he said.
Andrew urges resolution makers to think of making changes in life like steering a big cruise ship.
“There is no way you can get that ship to turn on a dime by yanking the wheel. It takes time to turn the ship. It takes knowing where you are headed and an understanding there may be obstacles in the way.
“For that ship to keep turning, you have to keep your hand on the wheel and not give up when it does not turn straight away.”
For Andrew, he knew in 2016 he was not on the path he wanted to be one. A highly successful commercial management consultant, he knew he wanted to do more with his life.
He wasn’t sure what that was, just that he wanted to make the changes necessary to begin his new journey. He set about changing his life. To get his ship to turn, he knew he needed six months to get his plan into action – sell his farm, find a new property, find a new school for his three sons and negotiate all the relationships that would be impacted by his change.
“It was a major piece of work. But what I knew was I am the master of my universe and for the changes to happen I must be prepared to put in the effort and stay resolute, even when things did not always go right. I knew what I wanted.
“When things went wrong, it was not the Universe telling me this was the wrong thing to do, it was the Universe asking me how badly I wanted the changes,” he said.
When New Year’s Resolutions do not work, for most people, it is because they do not accept they are the master of their destiny, Andrew says.
They are too quick to blame others for things that go wrong. They do not take the time to set a plan in motion.
“If you want to lose weight, it is going to take time. If you want to heal a broken relationship, it takes time.
“To turn your ship, you must have resolute faith that all the things you are doing will keep you heading in the new direction”.
Hitting the reset button on your life on January 1 without planning or preparation or without changing our mindset and attitude – will only lead us to where we are now!
A ‘New Year’s” can be any date you wish. It doesn’t have to be January 1, says Andrew.
To successfully make a New Year’s Resolution:
- commit to it ahead of time
- take control of your intentions
- have a better understanding of the current problems or issues, and what needs to change
- Understand the journey and what may crop up to get in your way, testing your resolve
- be accountable for your choices – not to a coach or someone else; but to yourself
“Remember, there is no such thing as failure. Just trial and error,” Andrew said.
“If things do not work out, you still get a result, you still got data. It just means it is time to try something different.”
Posted by Publicity Genie
Feature image @MEME