By the time you read this, you may already have violated your New Year’s resolution. Framed in lofty ambition, the target may have been to take weight off, to reorganize personal finances or to stop drinking. Habit being the mountain that it is, your laudable resolution lies in tatters with barely weeks gone in 2016.
Don’t despair. You’re not alone. One British poll says most people break their New Year’s resolution within a month.
Luckily, the year is twelve months long and there is still time to make meaningful change. The trick is to be honest with yourself about the most important changes you need and to break them down in to manageable steps.
I sailed past the usual landmark birthdays of 16, 21 and 30 without a care in the world. However, there was something about the age of 35 that scared me. Here I was floating through life just going where the winds of time blew me. Age 40, I resolved, should arrive with me having my head screwed on right and with me on the path to fulfilment.
So I popped out to my friendly neighborhood bookstore and bought a lined 8 1/2 x 14 writing pad and began to list my personal goals. With each goal, I outlined the steps I needed to take, researched the cost, and listed the contact
details of the people who could help me achieve my goal and how long it would take.
Then, using the writing pad as a medieval Gantt chart, I broke the process into steps which were to be made by a certain time. Itemising which activities could be done simultaneously cleared my mind. The whole process set me on my way.
I didn’t achieve everything itemised on that old yellow writing pad. I still haven’t, but it was still a beneficial experience. It was as if the universe had been waiting for me to wake up to my possibilities and a period of great fulfilment ensued. I blossomed professionally. An exciting new job came my way. I went back to school. I began my journey to the 2000 Olympics and eventually married a lovely woman.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #4, 2016 Issue.