STAY TUNED !!!

It’s the time of the year again to reflect on how we have conceded the previous year and to compose New Year resolutions – we make promises to ourselves that something in our lives will get better, our finances, our relationships, and our career. By this time my husband might be telling to his friends that he has conserved his last year’s resolution of not to eat too much chicken and kababs at the parties and when everyone looked suitably impressed by his consistency, he would simply add, “See I kept it written in my wallet!”

Desperately it’s common every year we face the “January Gym Phenomenon” we make New Year resolutions but wouldn’t continue with it beyond the first month. I have been through it, and been pretty much amused with the game I play with myself every January, for so many past Januaries.

These many years I have been actively making new-year resolutions on standard patterns of our life…, FITNESS, as ever it lasts for just few weeks. In fact, my fitness resolutions moves backwards… and my horizontal proportions keep growing by the year… forgetting conveniently about the chaats and pizzas I had I analyzed the reasons… and then realized that most of these resolutions were just ad hoc feel good thoughts and did not really fit into a concrete plan.

But this time I’m determined not to fail and give up on any of my resolutions. And my resolutions are not the usual ones… and who else other than my friends to share these thoughts… don’t get alarmed, iam not going to trouble your conscience with fitness tips…… this is just about how to handle resolutions successfully and feel good at the end of the year

However armed with a little impel and readiness to plan, anyone can insure a successful change for a better 2010. Most of us have read or heard advice on setting goal, my recommendation is to have EDSODA; it’s not an ordinary soda which will make you burp badly in front of others it’s the one which will make others to astonish on your accomplishments. Cool friends iam not a brand ambassador to advertise a soft drink, let me explain what it is E,D,S,O,D,A - EDSODA,

where ,

E stands for experience in the past,

D-Direction,

S - for situation now,

O - Outcome desired

D -Deadline &

A - Action steps. The results of your EDSODA practice will enable you to set up your goal funnel, which in turn narrows your annual goal to a small end concentrating on your daily actions.

First of all how to set a goal? Keith Ferrazzi wrote in his book ‘who’s got your back’, “the only difference between a dream and a goal, is that a goal is put into writing.” To do these perform a small home work like look at your past experiences, what will be heading you further? What are you now and where do you want be? The lack of these specifics for a goal is the pathway for several scapegoats.

Secondly! Setting a Goal Timeline. The number one reasons that a new year’s resolution fail are time, priority and accountability. Since the goal is specific – one can easily set a timeline detailing measurable progress by scheduling on a calendar. Now suddenly your goal is scheduled with a since of expectation, priority.

Finally secret to succeeding an oath lies in making it automatic. We are all aware that practice makes perfection, but the real twinge lies in practicing regularly. To avert one from losing track of their goal due to time constraints (or other excuses) they should ‘make it automatic’. This can be more easily achieved with some goals than others. For example the goal of saving rs2000/- a month for vacation can be done by opening a savings account, but for the more demanding goals, making it automatic may take some initiative; perhaps thinking outside the box for ways to assure a goal’s success.

In moving the desired direction you will realize that you will have to acquire new habits of thinking and doing. At this stage the rule of 21 comes to your assistance. Let us suppose that you need to improve your vocabulary this year. Fix it 5 new words a day for a 21-day cycle all over again till you compete one cycle without a break. At the end of a successful 21-day cycle, you will have a new habit and had learnt more than 100 words in a month.

Regardless of the method is archaic, it is important to find a way to ‘make it automatic’. One of the biggest set backs that people who set new year’s resolutions encounter is missing their target or temporarily falling off the wagon. It might be something unexpected. Maybe it is not of their own doing, such as someone focused on saving money who encounters an unplanned expense. Too often this is enough to derail the whole resolution. Instead it is important to accept the challenge, but not the defeat. Get back on the horse and start all over again.

After all these resolutions are just to lead a organised life, i just wanted to add few more tips like an icing on a cake - be receptive, forget and forgive , let off what had not turned up, spread positive energy, treat each person you meet equally!!- these constitute a spiritual quest but ultimately this is the art of making the ordinary moments of your life extraordinary.” Stay tuned! Blissful new year waits ahead……