[Zen888]

What are some of your new years resolutions for 2007 and how do you intend on keeping them?

Mine are eating healthier and exercising more! (original I know)

[JustAPixie]

Mine are to stop making new years resolutions!!!!!!

I haven't thought of anything yet... I'm not really big on new years stuff, I'm too warn out after christmas...

[sparkling]

I've written the whole long list... I'm not going to put it here because I know I won't keep any of them. Except one since I already started so I think it will be finished in the near future - to create a website with online novels translations. I've been planning to do it for a long time.

[Sarah116]

- To lay off the junk and get in shape again. I am not fat but not in shape I used to have very tight abs, upper body,arms and legs and after starting meds I have gotten outof shape!
- Work with my Yahoo! Groups and start using Amazon more.
- Mental health goals
- That's all I can think of at the moment I guess think better LOL!

[jlove973]

HELP! How do I keep them? My will power and motivation is 0% I have never made them until this year and we are about 11 hours into it (live in Arizona) and I have already broke one of my Resolutions

[JustAPixie]

I know how you feel jlove.... that's why I don'tmake them. It's one less thing to feel guilty about!!!

[AlliKamikaze]

10 For 2007

-Try to be more social
-Work on organizing room
-Practice violin and guitar more
-Try more kinds of foods and cuisines
-Leave time for more "me time"
-Travel somewhere I've never been before
-Spend more time outside and enjoying nature
-Stay friends with Brian even when he goes to high school next year(omg... i just realized my little brother is growing up... crap, what am I going to do lol .... hmm)
-Get a pretty dress.
-Become a better driver (well, getting license would be a start lol)

[AlliKamikaze]

lol you mentioned using amazon more

I freaking love amazon. I won't ask why you want to use it more this year but it seems like the easiest resolution ever for me, so I guess it makes me giggle a little.

But good luck with that. Yes yes
And if you should happen to need someone to help you explore/figure out the amazonian jungle, I'd be happy to oblige.

*salutes* lol

[AlliKamikaze]

I try not to make the traditional kind.
It's too easy to disappoint yourself.
Instead, I try to start the new year on a new ambitious note and I give myself things to try or start working on.
Trying is much easier to accomplish than promising.

So if you ask me, to make the resolutions work, you may have to adjust your way of thinking and avoid making such hard promises.
For example:
<font color="green">Eat right. </font>

I figure most people want that, but I can only imagine that a miniscule percentage of people actually follow it.

Instead I suggest focusing on one small attribute at a time or saying something like:

- <font color="purple"> Eat more fruits and vegetables. </font> (although that might be a personal preference for me because I love fruits lol)

- <font color="purple"> Eat less chocolate </font> (this one can still be challenging, but I see it as a step up from "stop eating chocolate" all together)

- <font color="purple"> Try more foods</font> (this is one of mine actually, I think it can help you find healthier foods that you like just as much as some unhealthy ones, as well as varying your diet so that you get a broader mix)

Or for excercise:
<font color="#008800"> Get back in shape </font>
<font color="#008800"> Excercise everyday </font>

Are the most common I hear, even from my mom.
I think a better one for most people is something like:

- <font color="#000088"> Join a dance class </font> (or make it less specific like 'join a sport' if you're not sure of something to do to get in shape)

<font color="#000088"> Run with Mom </font> (I hate running myself, and this was not one of my resolutions although it could have been, but I think it's better because it isn't restricted with when and how long. But it serves as a bit of a good thing to do when the opportunity comes up and you feel up to it. And sometimes when I'm actually out with my mom running some where, I do enjoy talking to her, even though I hate the running itself lol)

Anyway, in my opinion, those little updates are much more likely to work because

A. You avoid breaking resolutions within hours or days of making them. (Many of them don't have to be done at a specific time, this leaves you time to get around to it, and even if you feel like you're not following your resolutions a little better, you can look at the calendar and see that you still have time to try and follow them)
B. They aren't overly specific and so they are more open to other ideas that might interest you more later. (For example: if I said "Try New Italian Foods" instead of any new foods, I might not have as many new italian foods available to me as I do (say) Chinese foods, but feeling restricted to only Italian foods forces me to choose from a smaller selection of those Italian foods available, and can ultimately make me not want to try very many at all)
C. They aren't promises to break. I think resolutions are looked upon too often as "well, let me see how long can I keep it", where I think it would be so much more helpful if it was, how well can I do, or how good of a job can I do. (For example: saying "Excercise everyday" is an extremely one to break. In the event that you are sick, or just too busy and overly tired to excercise, you've already broken it, and without really meaning to. Some people might continue with that resolution looking at that day as an exception or extenuating circumstances. But with that one day breaking your commitment, it makes it all that much easier to blow it off next time, you really just dont want to do it. Your mind will easily remind you that "well, I've already broken my resolution so what difference will it make now" and then you've pretty much ruined any chance of following it anymore. Instead of timestamping each of your resolutions, your more likely to keep them if you use words like "do something more" "do something else less" More, less, or even words like continue, keep, and try will make your resolutions more attainable, and thus more rewarding for you.)
D. You get a second chance to try again. You can look at the whole year to work on something instead of just looking at the day when you broke a resolution. (Example: Your resolution is to bike more often. Even if, for a while you're feeling lazy, and procrastinating, you still have a chance to redeem yourself and make up for it. I think this is so much more beneficial then forcing yourself to do something right on time until you don't, and then to give up completely on it.)

Anyway... this is ending up really long and in-depth. But I guess, I've been thinking about this for a while lately. Especially for my mom, who always makes resolutions to excercise and eat better.

But for those of you said you couldn't motivate yourself to keep any resolutions, or that you hated making them because you always felt guilty about breaking them sooner or later. This is my suggestion and it has always helped me. It probably won't change your minds, but I thought it might change the way you think about your resolutions at the very least.

Trust me, the sense of improvement and accomplishment is so much better then the guilt of breaking each one right away. I've done a lot of thought about this and I really think that the way I make my resolutions has a lot to do with how well I'm able to keep them, so I'll share my ways if it helps.

Good luck!

[jbug]

My short term resolution is to lose 60lbs by June....I go back to see my surgeon then and want him to ok my hernia repair and TT. He won't unless I've lost a bunch more weight.

I also want to quit smoking.

I want to love me for me and not who I think I should be.

Jbug

[Sarah116]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
AlliKamikaze said:
I try not to make the traditional kind.
It's too easy to disappoint yourself.
Instead, I try to start the new year on a new ambitious note and I give myself things to try or start working on.
Trying is much easier to accomplish than promising.

So if you ask me, to make the resolutions work, you may have to adjust your way of thinking and avoid making such hard promises.
For example:
<font color="green">Eat right. </font>

I figure most people want that, but I can only imagine that a miniscule percentage of people actually follow it.

Instead I suggest focusing on one small attribute at a time or saying something like:

- <font color="purple"> Eat more fruits and vegetables. </font> (although that might be a personal preference for me because I love fruits lol)

- <font color="purple"> Eat less chocolate </font> (this one can still be challenging, but I see it as a step up from "stop eating chocolate" all together)

- <font color="purple"> Try more foods</font> (this is one of mine actually, I think it can help you find healthier foods that you like just as much as some unhealthy ones, as well as varying your diet so that you get a broader mix)

Or for excercise:
<font color="#008800"> Get back in shape </font>
<font color="#008800"> Excercise everyday </font>

Are the most common I hear, even from my mom.
I think a better one for most people is something like:

- <font color="#000088"> Join a dance class </font> (or make it less specific like 'join a sport' if you're not sure of something to do to get in shape)

<font color="#000088"> Run with Mom </font> (I hate running myself, and this was not one of my resolutions although it could have been, but I think it's better because it isn't restricted with when and how long. But it serves as a bit of a good thing to do when the opportunity comes up and you feel up to it. And sometimes when I'm actually out with my mom running some where, I do enjoy talking to her, even though I hate the running itself lol)

Anyway, in my opinion, those little updates are much more likely to work because

A. You avoid breaking resolutions within hours or days of making them. (Many of them don't have to be done at a specific time, this leaves you time to get around to it, and even if you feel like you're not following your resolutions a little better, you can look at the calendar and see that you still have time to try and follow them)
B. They aren't overly specific and so they are more open to other ideas that might interest you more later. (For example: if I said "Try New Italian Foods" instead of any new foods, I might not have as many new italian foods available to me as I do (say) Chinese foods, but feeling restricted to only Italian foods forces me to choose from a smaller selection of those Italian foods available, and can ultimately make me not want to try very many at all)
C. They aren't promises to break. I think resolutions are looked upon too often as "well, let me see how long can I keep it", where I think it would be so much more helpful if it was, how well can I do, or how good of a job can I do. (For example: saying "Excercise everyday" is an extremely one to break. In the event that you are sick, or just too busy and overly tired to excercise, you've already broken it, and without really meaning to. Some people might continue with that resolution looking at that day as an exception or extenuating circumstances. But with that one day breaking your commitment, it makes it all that much easier to blow it off next time, you really just dont want to do it. Your mind will easily remind you that "well, I've already broken my resolution so what difference will it make now" and then you've pretty much ruined any chance of following it anymore. Instead of timestamping each of your resolutions, your more likely to keep them if you use words like "do something more" "do something else less" More, less, or even words like continue, keep, and try will make your resolutions more attainable, and thus more rewarding for you.)
D. You get a second chance to try again. You can look at the whole year to work on something instead of just looking at the day when you broke a resolution. (Example: Your resolution is to bike more often. Even if, for a while you're feeling lazy, and procrastinating, you still have a chance to redeem yourself and make up for it. I think this is so much more beneficial then forcing yourself to do something right on time until you don't, and then to give up completely on it.)

Anyway... this is ending up really long and in-depth. But I guess, I've been thinking about this for a while lately. Especially for my mom, who always makes resolutions to excercise and eat better.

But for those of you said you couldn't motivate yourself to keep any resolutions, or that you hated making them because you always felt guilty about breaking them sooner or later. This is my suggestion and it has always helped me. It probably won't change your minds, but I thought it might change the way you think about your resolutions at the very least.

Trust me, the sense of improvement and accomplishment is so much better then the guilt of breaking each one right away. I've done a lot of thought about this and I really think that the way I make my resolutions has a lot to do with how well I'm able to keep them, so I'll share my ways if it helps.

Good luck!

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