How To Make a Resolution
that Truly Pays Off
February is just around the corner and for people who are sticking to thier New years resolution I would like
to say congratulations! Nice job avoiding temptation and sticking to your commitment. For those individuals
with an iron-clad will power and determination of a stampede, this newsletter will probably just reaffirm what
they already know. Unfortunately, for the rest of us, it's not always so easy. So I've come up with a simple
exercise that will hopefully enable you to make a realistic, acheivable series of resolutions this year. Just
think, if you start this year and work really hard, where will you be next year?
When people ask me what my New Years resolution is going to be, I usually scrunch up my face a little and say,
"you don't need New Years to make a change in your life." The truth is, you have the power to make a fresh start
whenever you want. The first step is recoginizing the difference between cause and effect. So often people are so
consumed by the effect of their behavoirs that they fail to address the true cause. This type of cyclical behavoir
is all around us. We tend to be focused more on the quick fix rather than taking the time to recognize the core
behavoir and making a long term realistic plan for success. For example, if someone finds themselve completely
broke this January due to holiday over-spending their instinct might be to not spend any money for the next three
months. In other words they are going to punish themselves. This is a very negative approach and for that matter
it's completely unrealistic. For most people this kind of ultimatum will only lead a to more negative behavoir. And
because there is no long term plan in place, the person wont have a safety net to catch them.
If you would like to make a resolution this year and you want to try a slightly different approach, one that will
help you identify the areas of your life that truly need attention, the following simple exercise might come in
handy. First, in your notebook or journal make a list, of ten different areas of your life. This list should be
specific to your lifestyle and the things you value. The order is not important. We'll get to that a little later.
Example: List of ten areas of my life
|
Career |
|
Finances |
|
Education |
|
Relationship with Partner |
|
Relationship with Children |
|
Relationship with Ext. Family |
|
Relaxation |
|
Health/Fitness |
|
Community Involvement |
|
Overall Happiness |
 |
|
Now to the right side of each item on your list I want you to write a number from 0 to 10. This number will represent your level of satisfaction
in each of these areas with 0 being completely unsatisfied, 5 being satisfied with room for improvement, and 10 being completely satisfied. After
you have considered each of the areas and assigned each a satisfaction level, you should be able to see very easily the areas that need immediate
attention. Now, add all the numbers in the column to the right of each area. Your total should be somewhere between zero and one hundred.
See the example below.
Example: List with satisfaction ratings
|
Career |
6 |
|
Finances |
5 |
|
Education |
4 |
|
Relationship with Partner |
8 |
|
Relationship with Children |
8 |
|
Relationship with Ext. Family |
6 |
|
Relaxation |
2 |
|
Health/Fitness |
6 |
|
Community Involvement |
3 |
|
Overall Happiness |
+ 7 |
|
|
|
|
Total = |
55 |
This exercise will help you not only to see the areas of your life that need a little attention, but also the areas that you excel in.
From the example it's clear that I have some room for improvement. It's also clear where I need to focus my attention. Obviously, not
many people are going to score one hundred and if you did that maybe it's time to raise your expectations. Conversely if you scored
zero, it might be time to give yourself a break and lower your expectations.
Now you're almost ready to make some resolutions, but before you go and make any drastic changes you should take another look at your
list. Are there multiple areas that need attention? If so, the strategy should be to make a realistic plan that will enable you to give
attention to several areas over the next year. Give yourself a realistic time frame and start by setting goals that are easily
attainable. This should help to keep you motivated for the long term. After a few months you'll be amazed at what you've accomplished.
Remember to re-evaluate every couple months. Tracking progress is the key to any successful endeavor.
Good Luck and have a Wonderful New Year!
 Send your comments
|
|
|
|
Adult AD/HD Just a Fad?
Dec 05, 2004, 60 Minutes, an award winning CBS news show, reports on Adult ADD. I had been anticipating this broadcast
since this past fall when as an exhibitor at the CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder)
Conference in Nashville Tenn. I witnessed the 60 Minutes camera crew gathering footage for the story. Now, more than one
month after the broadcast I'm still utterly confused about what Morley Safer and 60 Minutes had hoped to accomplish with their
story entitled, ADD Grows Up.
In my opinion, after watching the broadcast the premise of the story was to expose some master plan created by U.S.
pharmaceutical companies, or as 60 Minutes labeled them, "drug makers." According to 60 Minutes, these "drug makers"
like Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals, saw an opportunity to create a market for a new line of drugs which would prey on adults
looking for relief from modern life. The following quote from the December 5th broadcast uses language that I believe
shows very clearly the intent of 60 Minutes. "Eli Lilly is trying to reach out to the 8 million adult Americans it
believes are suffering from ADD. The drug was launched amid heavy publicity - television ads, radio spots and print
ads - directing adults to be screened." It's interesting to me that 60 Minutes in their statement pins the creation
of this disorder on Eli Lilly. I guess we should simply forget about medical science, hundred's of years of research,
and millions of well documented case studies. Forget about the most recent developments in genetic research that has
shown a possible biological link between individuals with this disorder. You're to believe according to Morley Safer that
Eli Lilly created ADD and we're just naive sheep who can't help ourselves from buying designer drugs that make us feel better.
Hey Morley, does that mean that ADD would no longer exist if Eli Lilly stopped marketing their drugs? To dispute
this broadcast any further would just give it undue credibility so I'll simply say, shame on you 60 Minutes and shame
on you Morley Safer.
I think the popular media needs to learn more about the reality of Adult ADD. I encourage each of you to check out thier story
online and send Morley and the gang your thoughts and opinions.
Let 60 Minutes know
what you think...
|
