Fearless Advice for the New Year

I have to admit I am one of those who tend to backslide when it comes to fulfilling New Year’s resolutions set at the beginning of the year. There is always that excitement of getting the chance to restart on a clean slate. A new year can give us that feeling even if realistically, we know we have issues that will stay with us for the years to come.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

A New Year’s resolution is a promise we make to ourselves to improve aspects of our lives that need it. It may be about taking better care of our minds and bodies, being financially stable, to pursue career development,  or simply to allow ourselves to enjoy life. Nothing however can be more difficult to fulfill than a promise which we are accountable only to ourselves.

Here are some fearless advice for the New Year, coming from someone who had both successes and failures in accomplishing such kind of personal commitment:

Be Kind to Yourself and to Others While Pursuing Goals

Achieving  New Year’s resolutions should not be about punishing ourselves especially with promises that start with “I will not…I will no longer…”, and similar pledges. It is about making it doable. Remember, resolutions are directly connected with breaking bad habits and practices. Good habits are usually more difficult to do because they require discipline.

Think of it as taking care of yourself, not only for your loved ones, but most importantly for yourself. You deserve to live life to your maximum potential  and actually enjoy it. Pursue goals with firm gentleness towards yourself, firm by doing what needs to be done yet forgiving of lapses while continuously pursuing goals until a happy compromise is attained.

Be Responsible for Yourself

Seldom are we able to control outside forces to conform with our needs and preferences. With this reality, you need to be responsible for yourself. Stop blaming your lapses to what others are doing.

Take responsibility for your decisions and actions. Proper financial planning for example requires you to get guidelines that would lead to informed decisions. The Family Budget Planner provides suggested percentage guidelines based on income. This can help you come up with a workable family budget to provide for necessities and allowing some wants to be fulfilled. Make what you have work for you.

Be Happy with your Achievements

It may be impossible to attain all the promises that you make to yourself. Nevertheless, enjoy what you have achieved and continue pursuing failed commitments through other ways. The goal may be good but there may be other options available to achieve it.

Reward yourself for unlocked goals. You earned it but do so in direct proportion to your means. It makes no sense to reward yourself extravagantly at the expense of compromising your finances.

My Say

Although the start of the year signals new beginnings. the truth is we can always start changing for the better any time. New Year’s Resolutions have become a tradition for making promises. Let’s use the rest of the year to make them happen.