Yesterday was the day that the day most people lose motivation for their new good exercise habits, according to a survey based on 48 million user patterns.  Other studies say the same thing; 80% of all New Year’s resolutions go awry by the second week of February. February 17 is actually the “Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day”, it should be celebrated by just giving up….

Why do people give up?

First; by trying to do too much; start exercising, eat healthier, read more, play more with the kids, go for more walks, work less overtime, shop less… Do you recognize yourself? An infinitely long list of things to get better at. You are doomed to fail. Instead; Select ONE main target. When you succeed you get it, you can move down the list of everything you want to get better at. Priorities work!!

Second; the goals often seem unattainable and thus are demotivating. For example “I should start eating healthier”. It is very little action oriented. How about saying that this week I will eat one fruit a day, next week I will skip sugar on the cereal, and so on. Define measurable goals, at a level that suits you, to increase motivation when you see that you reach your goals.

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one.” – Mark Twain

So, my plan this year was not to have a proper plan. I do not have ONE New Year’s resolution, but I promise myself that I will focus on ONE thing every month; I have a flexible annual plan.
The main theme is that I want to start writing and learning more. But it also means that I have to drop other things if I am to get it done.
In January it was to get this webpage up and running and write one post.

So, how about you? What about trying this:

1. Choose the one thing you want to get better at or that you want to stop doing
2. Decide exactly what you want to do to reach that goal
3. Decide when you want to work on it, day AND time
4. Get started today!

And remember, if you fail, try again. Maybe refine the action a bit?

Today is truly a great day to start doing something new!