What's Your Motivation? How To Stick To Your New Year's Resolutions
November 22nd, 2008

At least fifty percent of the population makes at least one New Year's resolution each year. The reality of a New Year's resolution is that they are usually broken within a week or two of their origination. While people try to do the right thing and set goals for the upcoming year, they often have a hard time finding the motivation to keep them. The main problem with these resolutions is that they are often too large to handle. It is proven that people will succeed more often when they set small goals. New Year's resolutions are rarely small, short-term goals. They are often goals that should be followed throughout the year. By breaking down the goals, people will be more likely to keep those pesky resolutions.

Motivation to Lose Weight

The most popular resolution made at the beginning of the year involves losing weight. People often think about how much weight they want to lose throughout the entire year and will make that their initial goal. Finding motivation to lose weight can be one of the most difficult things in the world however. To make it easier on yourself, try vowing to lose six pounds. When you reach that goal, make another resolution to lose six more.

By the time the year is over, you will have likely lost the entire initial amount you wanted to lose. This works much better however because when you reach each smaller goal, you will gain instant motivation to keep going. This instant motivation is important, especially when you are trying to lose weight. Losing weight is not always a fast process, so the motivation can decrease. Reaching the small goals will help keep your motivation level consistent and you will succeed.

Motivation to Spend Less

With the population in more debt than they have been in the last fifty years, the resolution to spend less is increasingly popular. Deciding to spend less is not a difficult task, however remembering to do so can be challenging. Consumers get set into specific patterns where they spend money. One consumer may be accustomed to eating out three times a week, which may make it difficult to save money by eating in every night. Another consumer might buy only name brand food and toiletry items. Training yourself to be a bargain hunter can be difficult but it is not impossible. Make a list when you go shopping. Check brand prices and try out lesser expensive brands until you find one that you can deal with. You would be surprised at what you can save just by buying generic toothpaste each year.

If you are a shopper that uses credit cards for everything, consider switching to cash. When you carry cash with you, you will be more likely to be aware of what you are spending. You won't be able to go over budget if only using cash. Those who use credit cards spend more than those who use cash because they are not visually seeing what they spend. To motivate yourself, consider rewarding yourself with a trip or a new outfit if you can buy all generic for six months.

Motivation to Take Time

With life getting busier by the minute, it is often difficult to plan time to spend with family and friends. The desire may be there, but the motivation may not be. The best way to follow through with your motivation is to create plans. Make a schedule for yourself. Allow at least one family night a week for nothing but spending time with your family. Designate it to a specific day a week if you can so everyone will know when the night will occur and plan accordingly. Do the same with friends, although you may need to do it less often. By making plans, you will be more motivated to keep them since you have made the commitment. When you get into the groove and start enjoying this time with your family and friends, you be increasingly motivated to keep the schedule going. You will feel great about balancing your life and will be able to enjoy the time knowing that you won't have to rush around making plans to take the time

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