Forget "Resolutions".....just make a decision and go for it!

RESOLUTION: "A firm decision to do or not to do something."

That's the first time I've looked up the actual definition of that word. I've never called them 'resolutions', I always just called them 'yearly goals. I used to sit down between Christmas & New Year's and write out these big lofty 'yearly' plans.....and then tape that sheet of paper somewhere I could see it....and by about the middle of February, I had already ignored most of them, and that sheet of paper became 'white noise' in my life that I stared at every day, but never really paid attention to.

Last New Year's, I tried something different. And it worked. **QUARTERLY GOALS** I decided not to overwhelm myself with trying to stick to something for a whole year. I set short term goals, and then set reminders on my phone to re-evaluate them at the end of March, and then again at the end of June, and then...... Well, you get the point. If something wasn't working, or if halfway through the year I wanted to change directions....I gave myself the freedom to do that. It worked brilliantly last year, so this year I decided to do it again. Here's how I broke it down:

THE 5 "F's" I need to FOCUS on:

- Faith

- Family

- Fitness

- Food

- Finances

There is a sheet of paper hanging in front of me every day that is broken into 5 sections, and I wrote down 2-3 things for each category. And they're specific. So, for example, instead of just saying, "I want to go to the gym more", I wrote: "No more than 2 days off from 21 Day Fix workouts", and then I set a realistic 'weight' goal to reach by the end of March. Not the end of 2016, just 3 months from now. That's more bite-sized and do-able in my brain and that will make me stick to it. I have found that when these areas of my life are 'in tact', then everything else falls into place.

I DID write down some yearly overall goals - for example, I wrote out a list of "starting balances" on the debts that we owe, and then I wrote a realistic expectation of where I want to be at the end of 2016. I wrote out goals for the businesses that I run. I cut out a beautiful photo of people kayaking in crystal clear water in the Caribbean and my husband and I talked about how what we are doing today is getting us closer to being able to take trips like that!!! But my shorter term goals of how we're going to get there is broken up into my 5 F's. Clear as mud? Cool. Go for it, I can't recommend it enough! :-)

I understand the catch phrase, "New Year's Resolution", but this year I'm focusing more on the definition of what it means and making a firm decision to.....JUST DO IT! (every day!)

For more information about Karyn's speaking topics and music, visit: Karynwilliams.com