Business Articles

A New Year, A New You

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 Melissa Smallwood (aka Multi-tasking Mama) has worked with seniors and families as a professional organizer for several years and is the owner of Organized Life by Design, LLC. She has an extensive human services background. She is also the mom of three active boys (one of which has special needs). She enjoys helping people get their lives, calendars and homes organized so that they have time to see and enjoy their blessings! Melissa also has a passion for cheap yet chic home décor and has many resources available for decorating your home on a budget. Melissa has written many articles on organizing for various websites and organizations including Online Organizing.com, Show Mom the Money, Ask Baby Kid, Dr. Mommy Says, Sassy Mamas, Pink Lemonade of Life and more.

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Each New Year millions of Americans make resolutions to change things about their lives.  They may want to lose weight, use their time more wisely, conquer clutter in their homes, or take time to learn a new skill.  With a new year, a new you is possible if you set goals and work toward achieving them.

Some people haven’t been very good at setting goals or at attaining them.  These ideas for setting goals may be what you need to make a new and improved you become a reality.

What is it about yourself that you would like to change in the coming year?  Decide what your final goal will be, but don’t fixate on that final goal.  Instead, think about small steps that you can take that will lead you, ultimately, to that final goal.

Don’t beat yourself up if you’ve made New Year’s resolutions in the past but haven’t succeeded.  The beauty of a new year is that it’s a chance for new beginnings.  Start out thinking positive about what you want to change; don’t think back to the failures.  Try one more time to affect the change you want to see in yourself.

Even if there are several things you want to work on or change in your life, it’s a good idea to focus on only one aspect at a time.  Too many resolutions will cause you not only to fail, but to fail at all of them.  You’ve felt bad enough about failing with one resolution in the past, so don’t set yourself up for a fall in relation to all of them.

Make your own resolution because it’s something you want to do, not because someone is pressing you to change.  If you truly want to change something about yourself, you may ask your friends and family to encourage and cheer you on, but don’t make a resolution based on what they want.  The decision to change has to come from within.

Write down your goal, what it is you want to accomplish, and set a time frame to master it in.  Give yourself time if you have a good deal of weight to lose.  You didn’t gain the weight overnight; you can’t expect to lose it as quickly.  Set small, measurable, and attainable goals.

Remember that New Year’s resolutions are goals that we set for ourselves that will hopefully give us the courage to step out and change ourselves in some way.  If you have a day that you blow your resolution, it’s not the end of the world.  Pick up the next day right back where you were when you fell, then do your best to reach your individual goals and you’ll be that much closer to the final goal you set.