2015 Resolutions – Maximize Your Return, Put Your Energy Into Personal Growth and Development

By Suzie Doscher

Instead of focusing on the usual New Year’s resolutions like these:
•    Exercise more or start to exercise
•    Lose weight
•    Stop smoking, drink less alcohol, drink more water
•    Get organized
•    Find more time for family and yourself

How about looking at the 2015 as the year of moving forward and making the kind of changes that stick forever?
Change your thinking in order to invest your time and energy to grow personally and develop. The results will have a major impact on your professional life as well as your home life.

Many of your ‘resolutions’ will be resolved with this process. In fact, with time all of the habits you wish to change will be replaced with habits that leave you more calm, satisfied, fulfilled, stimulated, energized and healthy. You will feel better, look better and be a better person. You can ‘grow into your skin’ - be the person you know you are.

Personal Growth
Life changes all the time, sometimes daily. During your lifetime you never stop growing, developing and learning, which of course means changing.  If you resist this, you run the risk of staying stuck!

On the path of personal growth each step you take results in change. Imagine climbing up a ladder. With each step your view changes, you get a new perspective. If one of your habits is to say ‘yes’ even when you do not really want to, how about learning to get comfortable saying ‘no?’  It is not selfish to take better care of yourself! Taking better care of yourself allows you to take better care of others, BUT not at your expense.

Personal growth and development involves making choices that are right for you.

Starting on the path of personal growth and development rather than thinking in terms of New Year’s resolutions offers you a new beginning on many levels.

Here Is How You Do It
Increase your awareness as to what needs to change by asking yourself these questions:

·      What would make the biggest difference in my day-to-day life? What would make my life easier, more in line with my goals, my beliefs, my values, my purpose? Is it something at work, at home or in my relationship?

·      What exactly would make me happier, energized, excited, motivated and stimulated?

If you are finding it difficult to work this out, think of one thing that would make a difference in your daily life and is easy to do such as:

·      Getting up 10 minutes earlier so you are not rushing to work
·      Choosing one day per week that you will leave work on time
·      Scheduling some down time so you are more present when you are with the family
·      Practicing how to listen and communicate more effectively

Make good choices to ensure you get off to a good start:

·      Choose one option
·      Choose how to start
·      Choose who can support you
·      Choose when to start
·      Choose to be realistic with your expectations
·      Choose to make your time frame realistic
·      And ALWAYS choose to be kind and patient with yourself along the way. It takes time and repetition to change things.

88% of New Year’s Resolutions Fail

According to the researcher Richard Wiseman, 88% of all resolutions set by Americans fail. This equals 156 million disappointed people.

Get started today by making a list of ‘What has to change.’

For further information on how to make changes, check out my article: How the Brain Rewires – What this Means to Coaching (Change)