What's the key to successfully following through with a New Year resolution? Writing it down? Crafting a plan? Taking action?
Before doing any of those things, there is something else we can do that can make a huge difference to whether we will fly or flounder with our intentions. And we can do this before we have even chosen what our New Year resolution is to be.
Imagine an Olympic athlete, or a team or performer in your favourite sport. Imagine they have broken a record, won gold, topped their league... Picture them mounting the podium to bask in the glory of receiving their reward and recognition.
Now, as you imagined that, did you picture someone creeping up to the podium timidly, hoping that they could slink away before anyone noticed? I doubt it.
What you pictured was someone triumphant: grinning joyfully, standing in their full stature, like a conqueror. In other words, you saw a confident person. I know that's what you imagined, because we all know that winners are confident people. They first believe they can win, before they devote themselves to winning.
So, before you even think about the details of your New Year resolution (or any target you ever choose to aim for), start by building your confidence. See yourself as a winner.
To do that, first look to your past. Make time to list any and every occasion when you ever achieved anything that meant something to you. Every spare moment that comes along, think about those times when you succeeded. Feel what it felt like. Enjoy the feeling. Do this over and over. Get it into your head, into your heart, and anywhere else that you can get it, that you are a winner.
Now, look forwards to the future. What do you want it to be? Make your resolution with confidence that you can see it through. You've achieved lots of things before; you can do this, too.
You may now find that your first thought about your resolution could be, "Perhaps I should be aiming twice as high as this?" Wherever you end up, it's likely to be much further than originally planned.
Happy New Year!
Footnote:
The term self-esteem was coined in the 1950's by professor of psychology Nathaniel Brandon. After studying the subject throughout his whole career, he concluded that self-confidence is the biggest predictor of happiness and success in every area of life. And no matter how much confidence we have, the more the better.