As the end of the year is fast approaching many of us have our thoughts on the holidays and getting together with family. The new year is distantly on our minds, but the festivities of the holidays often overshadows the approaching new year. Some of us don’t start thinking about the new year until after we’re done celebrating Christmas and taking advantage of the After Christmas sales.

When those are over and our thoughts turn to New Years, many people start making their resolutions for the new year. Unfortunately, most of those resolutions fall by the wayside some time in February or even before. Resolutions can be a good thing, but we often break them because we haven’t adequately planned how we’re going to implement them. Author James Clear says in his book Atomic Habits that “we don’t rise to the level of our goals, but fall to the level of our system”.

Designing a system that will effectively succeed in your resolution becoming a reality and you being able to realize the change you want requires that it be written out and have dates set for specific accomplishments. Having it written out with specific dates becomes the foundation of your system for success. To merely say I want to lose 20 pounds, I want to go to church regularly, I want to start exercising, or I want to get my finances in order has no substance to it and easily gets forgotten as time goes on.

Life has too many distractions and it’s too easy for us to fall back into the habits that have led us to be where we don’t want to be and the reason we make the resolution. When you have a written plan with specific goals and dates for those goals you’re able to keep them in front of you and that helps you remain focused on them. Of course, the specific goals need to be able to realistically met and set to short time spans where you’re able to see the progress you’re making.

Nothing keeps you more motivated to reaching your ultimate goal than reaching little goals along the way. Think of it like steps on a ladder. With each step you climb, you’re getting closer to your destination. That’s one reason that so many people have success with Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps and using the Debt Snowball Method to pay off their debts. Those incremental achievements give them the feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction that they’re getting closer to their goal.

Caution needs to be exercised when making your resolutions that you don’t make too many. You’re only able to focus on one thing at a time. So, trying to lose weight, get your financial house in order, getting a degree or other training, etc. can cause your attention to be on too many things. When your attention is on too many things the likelihood of you accomplishing any of them increasingly diminishes with every resolution you add to your list.

Having many things that you want to change about yourself, your life, etc. isn’t bad. But should you feel you have a lot of things that need changed, it would be a good idea to reflect on how content you are with what you have and where you are in life. Those in the Marketing industry continually tell us we and whatever we have is never good enough. However, that is grossly incorrect. David said in Psalm 139 that he was fearfully and wonderfully made. That definition of him also applies to you because we are all God’s children. So, don’t discount yourself and believe that you have what you need and you are good enough.

An easy way to help you become content with what you have and yourself as a person is become grateful for those things. When you’re thankful for what you have and what you’ve been given, it changes your perspective and allows you to focus on the good in your life. It’s hard to think about what you don’t have while you’re being appreciative for what you do have.

Again, this change in your perspective won’t happen overnight, but as you look to the positives each day it will become second nature for you. Intentionally changing your thinking and behaviors by 1% each day will yield you a change of 37% by the end of a year. Over the course of several years you’ll be able to realize significant improvements in your life from those intentional changes.

I hope today’s blog was encouraging to you and provided information to help you and others better handle their financial matters. My purpose through these blogs is to inform the reader about money and financial issues so we all can become better managers of the assets we’ve been given. If you like what you read, make sure to sign up so you can receive my weekly posts. The goal of Take Two Financial Coaching is to provide the necessary information to help families and individuals break the chains of debt, build lasting wealth, and become outrageously generous by changing their perspective around money and finances.

For those who are tired of being in the rat race or just want to better manage what they earn, I am available to have a Free 60 Minute Conversation to discuss your situation and how I can help you change it. Go to my calendar at https://ramseycoach.com/taketwofinancialcoaching to arrange a time that works for you. You can also email me at taketwofinancialcoaching@gmail.