Forget New Year’s Resolutions and Find Natural Success

Instead of worrying about picking out the right New Year’s Resolutions for 2010, take the day to celebrate yourself.

That’s right — you!

Yes, resolutions can be a great way to train new habits or fix old problems.

But most resolutions in the name of the new year are usually in need of serious revisions.

That’s because they are focused on changing you so that you are a “better” version of yourself.

Or rather, more socially acceptable, or even more responsible.

At the root of most New Year’s Resolutions are dysfunctional beliefs about personal growth and self-acceptance.

So take a break this year, and focus on what really matters: taking care of you so that your success will naturally fall into place.

Natural success results when you:

1. Get really clear on what you really want to get done, and why.
2. Support yourself so that you can do all you can to get that done.

Reframe short-term wants into long-term goals

If you already made a list of resolutions for 2010, you can use it to discover what exactly you want to accomplish.

Did you list “Stop biting my nails,” “Become an early riser,” “Eat healthier,” or “Listen more”?

Behind each of those short-term wants is a long-term goal.

• Kicking the nail-biting may be the first step to deal with nervousness productively.
• Early rising may be the first step toward having the time to finish your first novel.
• Healthy eating may be the first step toward eating more locally and becoming more self-reliant.
• Listening more may be the first step toward better relationships, and breaking the habit of codependency.

So what it is that you want right now?

And what long-term goal does that want lead to?

See the bigger picture

Listing out short-term wants is easy. Realizing that they’re part of something bigger takes more work.

Oftentimes, you won’t succeed at the short-term goals until you see how they’re connected to the larger ones.

And the short-term goals sometimes to distract you from the longer-term ones.

Like when you try to quick-fix procrastination without facing your feelings — it won’t last.

Some of the longer-term goals take years to develop, so it’s now wonder you might subconsciously distract yourself from them.

But hey, you’ve got a whole year ahead of you!

Support yourself in reaching your goals

Why not get clear now and what you really want to achieve?

Once you do, then you can start to get creative and brainstorm all the ways you can help make that happen this year.

Not by imposing unnecessary limits on yourself without understanding what they stand for (which is what most resolutions are).

But by taking inventory of all the resources out there that can help you succeed.

Some resources are completely free, such as books from the library, or articles on the internet.

Others may cost a bit of money, but the price limit is for you to decide.

Start today, by celebrating yourself

After you’ve listed all the available resources that can help you out this year, take the rest of the day off.

Don’t worry — when you need to access a resource, it will be there waiting for you, or you can go out and find it.

For now, just celebrate yourself.

Do something fun, entertaining, relaxing.

Explore a new place. Be open to new experience.

Really, go do something nice for yourself. You deserve it.

It’s the only way to really achieve those long-term goals… with natural success.