Resolve to Make This Your Best Year Ever
Issue #2240
- WEALTHY: Why you should make resolutions this year (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: The link between your bones and your mental health (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Walt Disney on setting goals
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Your 9th Special Holiday Gift from ETR - 3 ways to make success your permanent address (Suzanne Richardson)
- It’s Fun to Know… an unusual way to ring in the New Year
- Add "doff" to your vocabulary
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"A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive."
Walt Disney
Kicking Off 2008 With ETR: Resolve to Make This Your Best Year Ever
"I don’t make New Year’s resolutions," Jane told me. I think it’s stupid."
"And why is that?" I wanted to know.
"No one ever keeps them," she said. "And if I want to make a change, I can do it any time. I don’t have to wait till January first."
I didn’t argue with her. She was pretty much correct. Studies show that most people abandon their resolutions within days of making them. According to Dr. Stephen Kraus, a Harvard-trained social psychologist who has done extensive research on resolutions, only 15 percent of people who make resolutions adhere to them over the long-term. Of the 85 percent who abandon their resolutions, says Kraus, 20 percent break them within a week.
And Jane was right about the timing too. If you want to improve yourself, the best time to start is immediately.
But her conclusion was wrong. Just because most people fail at something doesn’t mean you will.
If 85 percent of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions, that means 15 percent complete them. And when those people succeed, they feel good about themselves. And they put themselves in a position to set and achieve higher-level goals.
Studies show that people who set goals achieve more in life than those who don’t. Those same studies confirm that when people write down their goals and refer to them regularly they achieve even more.
And what does Jane risk by setting new goals for herself this year? Some time. Some effort. But what are the possible rewards? She might accomplish something meaningful. She might improve herself in some significant way.
Jane says she doesn’t believe in making New Year’s resolutions. But what she really means is that she doesn’t believe in setting goals. In the past, she has dreamed about having a better life. And she’s talked about it. But nothing happened. So she chalked it up to fate. "Some people are lucky," she says. "And some people are not."
If, like Jane, you believe success is a matter of luck, that means you believe your destiny is out of your control. So you hope for something to "happen" that will change your life for you.
I’m on the other side of this fence. It makes me feel good to believe that I can control my future - to believe that by increasing my knowledge, developing my skills, sharpening my thinking, and ruling my emotions, I can accomplish a great deal. And the only way I know of to do that is to set goals and pursue them, one small step at a time.
Tom and Joe, two young people with the same experience and education, begin working for the same company. Initially, they have the same jobs, the same salaries, and the same perks. Five years later, Tom has become a divisional boss with a salary and perks far beyond those of his old friend Joe. What happened? Tom understood that, more often than not, success in life comes in small degrees - one small accomplishment added to another, gradually, over time.
It’s like building a sand castle. If you amass just enough sand to sustain a single onrush of waves, it will be gone in a few hours. But if you build a larger castle - make the walls higher and thicker and stronger - then you’ll have something to build on the next day.
It won’t look like much in the beginning. Just the half-wrecked foundation of a wall. But with every passing day, it will become more substantial. Eventually, it will be a massive structure - taller, wider, and stronger, by far, than all the other sand castles people have tried to build around it. And yet, it will have been built by a person of equal talents using the same tools. The only difference: the extra effort it took to add something new and better every day.
If, like Joe, you put in just an ordinary amount of effort - the same amount of effort your friends and colleagues are making - your progress in life will continually be eroded by external forces over which you have no control. Every day, you will get up, go to work, and do your best. But at the end of each year, you will look back and realize you’re in the same position you were in at the beginning of the year. You will feel like Jane does: that there’s no point in trying.
But if, like Tom, you are willing to do just a little bit more - to add just a little more sand to your castle every day - you can make progress. It won’t be impressive progress after a week or a month. But by the end of the year, you will be amazed at how much you will have accomplished.
I have made New Year’s resolutions for many years. And for most of those years, I followed through on very few of them. Then, when I started writing about goal setting for ETR in 2000, that changed. My track record shot way up.
Not all of the goals I set for myself are major. But I find that even working on the minor ones helps me have more control over my life - and accomplishing them gives me a feeling of satisfaction.
My track record is much better now, because I have gradually changed the way I think about work, the way I feel about work, and the way I manage my resources - including my time, relationships, skills, knowledge, and finances. I am going to be talking about these changes in a series of essays that will be combined into a book that ETR will publish. It’s tentatively titled How to Master Plan Your New Life.
The first part of the book will focus on setting goals and making resolutions. I will explain the kind of goals I set; why, when, and how I set them; and exactly how I integrate them into my daily work schedule. (It’s going to be the perfect supplement to ETR’s Total Success Achievement Program.)
Meanwhile, I’m hoping that, by taking advantage of the advice you’ll be reading in ETR each day, you will be taking at least one small step forward every week. And I’m hoping that, at the end of the year, you will look back and realize that 2008 was the best and most productive year you’ve ever had.
It’s up to you… so, what are you going to do?
Are you going to put this essay aside, telling yourself, like Jane does, that New Year’s resolutions are "stupid"? Or will you decide that you don’t need to be motivated, that your life is fine as it is? Or will this be the year you humble yourself and say, "Maybe I can do better"?
Make this resolution now. That you will make good use of ETR this year. Resolve now that you will spend five minutes every day scanning it - and that when you come across an article that can be helpful to you, you will read it then or set it aside to read later.
Resolve, too, to read all the essays I’ll be writing on master planning your life. And when something I write encourages you to do more - to put more sand on your castle - take action.
Every day, ETR’s editors will give you one or several ideas that will improve your life - ideas on personal productivity, leadership, diet, fitness, business management, sales, and marketing. And if neither the briefs nor the main article inspire you, there’s always "It’s Good to Know" or "Word to the Wise" for a bit of self-education.
Five minutes a day with ETR. It will pay you back many times over.
The year 2008 can be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest year of your life. It starts today. Set your goals.
[Ed. Note: Get a jumpstart on 2008 by signing up for ETR’s Total Success Achievement program. As a member, you’ll get ideas and recommendations on how to set your goals…weekly Power Surge messages from Bob Cox with advice on how to accomplish your goals… bi-monthly teleseminars with Bob and Patrick Coffey… a members-only website full of motivational articles… access to a members-only forum where you can share success strategies with others… and much more. Learn more by clicking here.]
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Your 9th Special Holiday Gift From ETR: Are You Making Success a One-Time-Only Destination?
By Suzanne Richardson
Jamie and Randy had the same goal for 2006: to lose 15 pounds. Starting January 1 of that year, they both cut carbohydrates from their diets. They both stopped drinking soda. They both began an exercise regimen that included three days of strength training and four days of interval training. By December 31, they had both reached their goal of dropping 15 pounds.
January 1 of 2007, Jamie started drinking soda again. Randy continued to eat a diet low in carbohydrates and high in protein. Jamie dropped strength training from his weekly workout. Randy continued to hit the gym every day.
Fast-forward to December 31 of 2007, and Randy had kept off those lose pounds. Jamie, however, has made a new goal for 2008: to lose those same 15 pounds again.
According to Bob Cox, creator of The Billionaire Way and the voice of ETR’s Total Success Achievement Program, "Success is not a one-time destination. It should be your permanent address."
Sure, you may set a goal this year. And you may accomplish it. But that doesn’t mean you should stop working at it. Whether you’re trying to climb up the corporate ladder, write a novel, or start your own business, you need to keep at it - even AFTER you’ve succeeded. That’s why Randy is moving on to new goals while Jamie is starting all over again.
Bob says you must change your behaviors if you’re going to be a success for the rest of your life. You need to learn new techniques - exercise routines, marketing strategies, networking skills, etc. - to reach your goals. But you need to make those techniques a part of your daily life, things you do every day until they become automatic.
You can make success your "permanent address" just by taking a few simple actions.
- Do something every single day that puts you closer to achieving your goals. Write 100 words of your novel… call 10 potential customers… work out for 30 minutes. All those little steps will add up over time.
- Constantly monitor and evaluate your progress. Every week, month, and quarter, take a look at your goals. Ask yourself if you’re right where you want to be. If you’re not, take a good hard look at where you went off track. Then use the results to create a new set of daily tasks.
- Get inspired. No one ever said achieving goals is easy! It takes hard work. So you’ll need some help along the way. Talk to friends and family for support and encouragement. Pick up books from the library that can give you new ideas. Read ETR for a daily dose of motivation. If you feel yourself giving up or getting frustrated, read about how others have overcome their own obstacles. You’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle your own goals.
Today, as #9 of your 12 Special Holiday Gifts from ETR, we’ve put together 11 top-notch strategies for getting out of that rut and getting everything you deserve out of life. Flip through this report whenever you need a little pick-me-up. Reread your favorite section anytime you want to rekindle that desire to get ahead.
We know you can accomplish everything you’ve always wanted. Now’s the time to take control of your life and make your dreams come true. Click here to pick up your free gift.
Reader Feedback: "It all WORKED, just like you intended, and just like I had hoped."
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"These interviews are priceless. It shows that even we novices stand a very good chance of ‘getting something going in the way of Internet cash flow.’
Thank you for this very well laid out program and service. I hope I can make a couple of grand ($2,000) by the end of January. You will hear from me, if such is the case."
- D. Mohling
Exeter MO
How to Fight a Terrible Pair of Health Threats
There’s a surprising combination that all women now need to look out for. According to a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine, women who suffer from a major depressive disorder also have low bone-mineral density. The researchers believe it could be due to an increase in stress hormones released while in a state of depression. And it might also be the result of a decrease in physical activity.
If you or someone you know suffers from depression, the first step (of course) is to seek appropriate medical treatment. Once that is in place, you should also seek out a qualified exercise instructor. Not only have studies shown a connection between consistent exercise and a reduction in depression symptoms, the right exercise program can also help fight off low bone-mineral density.
Weight-bearing exercise - from walking to squatting - is especially effective for this purpose. Increasing calcium intake and eliminating smoking are two other ways to improve the health of your bones.
[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is the creator of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system. For a free online source of information, motivation, and social support to help you improve your health, lose weight, and get fit, sign up for ETR’s free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: An Unusual Way to Ring in the New Year
What do you think about the idea of taking a nice swim in bone-chillingly cold water on New Year’s Day? Kicked off by the Coney Island Polar Bear Club in 1903, Polar Bear clubs around the world have made this an annual rite.
It is not unusual for the water temperature to dip to the 30s. But Polar Bears say that, because they limit their time in the water, cases of hypothermia are extremely rare.
(Source: Coney Island Polar Bears Club and Wikipedia)
You CAN learn to become wealthy!
Success is not encoded in an individual’s DNA and does not transfer from father to son or mother to daughter. It is a process - and learning the process is a major KEY to setting up for success.
Today I’d like to offer you two complimentary reports to help you get started: “How To Get What You Need To Succeed In Life" and "Simple Guidelines for Creating Abundance In Your Life."
There will be many steps you take towards your goals where it will feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back. You will have breakthroughs, triumphs, and opportunities to overcome adversity.
But to keep moving forward, you just might need a friendly kick-in-the-pants every once in a while. Here’s how to stay energized towards action and success every day of the year.
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Doff
To "doff" (DOF) is to (1) take off, as an article of clothing, or (2) put aside or rid yourself of something, as a bad habit.
Example (as used by I.F.A. Pyre in The Atlantic, April 1907): "And he became as a pillar of fire to superannuated peoples who had but to doff the lethargy of custom to find themselves young."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker … build your self-confidence and intellect … increase your attractiveness to others … just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR’s new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008