New Years Resolutions
Wednesday, January 14, 2015 at 12:46PM
Cheryl Fink, LMFT

Welcome to 2015.  Can you believe we are nearly through the first month of the new year already?  I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that we are almost half way through another decade!  So, I hear a lot of opinions on new years resolutions.  Some are all for them and some are totally against them.  Here's my perspective.  If resolutions get you motivated to make positive changes in your life.....I'm all for it.  I personally, really like the idea of a new year and new goals.  My memory isn't all that great sometimes and often I have a hard time discerning when something occurred.  I love to start new goals at the beginning of the year so I can acurately tell when I began them.

Often times people feel pressure to start new goals.  Let me just say that having a goal is a great idea no matter what time of the year it is.  The most important part of starting a new goal, at any point in the year, is to have a system of reinforcements so that you continue to be motivated as time moves along.  This year my family and I are doing "the family jar".   We bought a cool jar and each time something memorable happens we write it down and put it in the jar.  I haven't figured out what works for my family on when we will review the jars contents yet, maybe at the end of the year.  Its a great way to acknowledge the gratitude for the blessings in our lives and a fun way to relive some good memories.

Whatever your goal is remember to keep up the motivation.  Some great ways to do that are to have a partner, friend, family member, co-worker or whoever help keep you accountable.  If your goal is to hit the gym 3 times a week, work out with a partner (PS it also makes working out more fun!), if your goal is to save more money, check out some of the charts Ive seen floating around on weekly saving plans or use a free app tool on your phone to do some budgeting.  The key to follow through with goals is to have them well planned.  Google can be a great resource to helping you plan ways to achieve goals.

So, whatever it is you want to work on.......plan it out, set your intention and get some support to get you help you reach your goal.  With some good planning and determination, nothing is impossible!

Article originally appeared on Counseling in Modesto (http://counselinginmodesto.com/).
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