New Year’s Resolutions – do them differently!

New Year’s Resolutions are made every year by thousands of people who, within 4 or 5 days break them.  Why is this so?

Resolutions are often a form of punishment towards ourselves for what we have not previously achieved or what we believe we could be doing better.  They are focused goals which are supposed to whip us into shape and make us feel better about ourselves.  Like all punishments, they are negatively based and we often resist them or feel guilty when we invariably end up breaking them.

I encourage my clients to think differently about their lives and what they want to achieve.  Ask yourself ‘What do I really want my life to be about?’ Many people say ‘I want to be successful‘.  But what is success? How’s this for a definition?

Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal

Find out what your worthy ideal is – on your terms – not society’s. Then, New Year’s Resolutions will be a thing of the past and you will move forward differently, with everything you do infused with the values that are important to you as an individual.

Happy New Year.

The Psychology of Success

Success in life, career, relationships or business is often synonymous with financial, social or material reward.  Someone who has a high income, the material rewards to reflect their efforts and connections as a result of status or achievement is often considered to be successful.  Whilst a possible marker of some level of success, it might be the opposite – especially if the efforts or compromises to achieve those rewards were contrary to one’s values or true lifestyle desires.  Social and cultural myths exist which influence our choices so we may not actually be choosing at all – only from a slim diet of options dictated to by the masses.  Consider the definition by the late Earl Nightingale, author of the spoken recording ‘The Strangest Secret’.  He defines success as ‘The progressive realisation of a worthy ideal’. In these terms, do you consider yourself to be successful?

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