Why Wait? Make Today Your New Year.

Are you already planning your New Year's resolutions?  Goals, wants, and wishes for 2011. 

No matter what the resolution is why wait?  If it is true that it takes three weeks to create a habit then if you start now you will have created a habit in time for the new year.  You will be ahead of the game and already 3 weeks closer to your goal on New Year's Day.  While others are struggling with how to start you will be celebrating your early success.

Here's how to get started:
1)  Write down your goals.
2)  Write down a couple of steps to help you achieve each one.  Go for the low hanging fruit.  As you reach these early milestones the confidence you gain will help you go for the tougher ones.
3)  Review your list several times.  Is it realistic?  You definitely want to set hard enough goals to challenge yourself, but if they are too difficult you may get discouraged and go backwards instead of forwards.  This is especially true if your goals are related to fitness or diet.
4)  Don't go it alone.  Share your goals with others.  It will help secure your commitment to the goal.  You may also find that in sharing others have similar goals to you and you can compare what is working and what isn't working so that you all reach your goal sooner and with less bumps in the road. 

When I was training for my first marathon sharing my goal was the biggest part of actually being able to do it.  I knew that if I told someone there was no way for me to back out.  By talking about it I also found people who had run marathons who recommended books and websites that were priceless to my training.  Others I shared with were constantly asking me how the training was going; encouraging me to keep working towards running the race.  There was no way to let them or myself down.  I had to do it. 

My complete enthusiasm was catchy.  What started as my husband wanting to train with me, "until the miles get really high" he said,  turned out to be us running our first marathon together. 

This is the ultimate reason to share your goals with others; to  inspire. 

The most successful people are those who have goals, those who always work hard to do their best, and those who make others around them better.  They are not successful by doing amazing things averagely.  They do average things amazingly.

Best wishes for an amazing 2011.