Rejuvenate Failed New Year Resolutions

If you are in the majority, your New Year Resolution has failed by now. It was nice to recently hear a Life Maps client announce that she wasn’t part of this majority because she has a Life Map!  Here are some tips for those who want to rejuvenate their new year with life skills that lead to success.

Setting goals and making resolutions fail when three elements of human nature are not addressed in the plan. When seeking to change our life direction, habits cause us to be stuck in old behavior patterns. To overcome this habit, we must be aware of the three elements of human nature that get in our way. Author Joanna Weaver helped me to see the three human nature elements that usually cause us to stumble and fall:

Distraction
Discouragement
Doubt

Distraction - “Keep your eye on the ball” is the old saying that fits here. When we fortify our environment and thinking processes with props that maintain focus on the goal, we build a plan that will succeed. Having personality type self awareness equips us to accept particular ways we’re easily distracted.  This is a good reason to enroll in the Life Maps course – Myers-Briggs Personality Type course.

Discouragement – This human condition naturally follows Distraction, because once we’ve become distracted, we are lost in confusion and quickly lose positive energy about the goal. Adequate goal setting plans build in a secondary life skill of recruiting encouragement from self and others. Human nature causes us to attempt personal change using our pride.  “I did it all by myself!” Rarely does this attitude breed success. The correct life skill is: practice regular acts of self reward and acts of seeking encouragement from others. Note that receiving support comes in numerous forms – loved ones, like-minded people, books, magazines and seminars and more.  Remember that people enjoy being a participant in success. Express your gratitude often and remember to offer encouragement to them.

Doubt – even when there’s ample focus and encouragement along the goal journey, there will still be occasions of the human condition of Doubt emerging.  Usually it starts with a seed of self doubt. Self doubt grows whenever a question is raised about progress towards the goal.  Left unchecked, Doubt feeds on itself and leads to unbelief in self and the goal and eventual failure.

Life Skill Lesson – Deal with distractions using a daily self check habit. Gather encouraging supporters before you begin a goal journey and use them. Find constructive avenues for resolving doubts quickly.  There is nothing inherently wrong with Doubt because questions raised and resolved breed confidence in the new life direction.

Of course, addressing Distraction, Discouragement and Doubt is a common practice in Life Maps coaching. A premise of Life Maps coaching is to inform clients with the life skills and practiced life skill experiences necessary to no longer need the Life Maps services. Many Milepost subscribers have experienced this truth in the Life Maps business practices.  Life Maps looks forward to serving more Milepost readers.

 Use the 3 Ds in your daily practice of living life more goal-directed.  It’s a great way to rejuvenate a failed New Year Resolution.

 
Who Am I?
You may know me.
 I’m your constant companion.
I’m your greatest helper;
I’m your heaviest burden.
I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.
I am at your command.
Half the tasks you do might as well be turned over to me.
I’m able to do them the same every time if that’s what you want.
I’m easily managed; all you’ve got to do is see me doing what you want.
 Show me exactly how you want it done,
After a few lessons I’ll do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men and women, of course,
Servant of the failures as well.
I work with all the precision of a marvelous computer,
With the intelligence of a human.
You may run me for profit or you may run me to ruin,
It makes no difference to me.
Take charge of me and I’ll put the world at your feet.
Be easy with me and I will destroy you.
Who am I?