Did you know that today is National Ditch Resolutions Day?

It’s 17 days in and nationally folks are quitting already.  Some of you quit back on day 4…  According to research polls, of the folks who made a new years resolution, 46% of them will quit trying by the end of the January.

Whatever your resolutions are, I want to encourage you to be part of the 54% that are still working towards the goal.

This past year I set two goals for myself, lose 25 pounds and learn to play the piano.  Y’all followed along as I lost the weight, but I never shared my piano goals. I’m in my 30’s and always wanted to play a musical instrument, so I finally decided that I wasn’t too old to learn.  When I signed my girls up for lessons I signed myself up with them.  Yes I may play a few kids songs, but I can play a pretty awesome Mary Had a Little Lamb!  Seriously though, I have learned to play all sorts of hymns and classical pieces and most weeks (when I practice well) leave my lesson feeling quite proud that I finally did this.

I want to share a few things I learned over this past year:

Six Ways to Reach Your Goals:

1. Set little goals inside of your big goal.  It helps keep you going when it feels like things are stalling.  It also helps you see how far you’ve come.
2. No goal is too small.  Maybe you don’t need to lose any weight, still setting a goal of eating more fresh vegetables or drinking less caffeine is a great healthy plan.
3. Make some fun rewards.  I am all for going big.  If you want to lose 50 pounds, then how about saving as you lose so you can take a big trip when you hit the goal.  Knowing that a great vacation is waiting will help when resolutions grow old and boring.  I grabbed some discounted gift cards to get new clothes when I hit big marks in my weight loss also.
4. Set a couple goals at the same time.  Let’s lose weight and learn a new skill, or pay off debt and try to serve more in the community.  Whatever your goals are, having one goal that is focused on fixing a problem and one goal that’s learning and doing something new helps to spice up the day and helps to change your thoughts from always feeling negative.  Feel free to pick more than two, but lets still keep it doable.
5. Find accountability.  Shout your goals from the roof tops, tell anyone who cares and will ask how it’s going.  Being vocal about your goals is a huge key to staying in when the work gets hard!
6. Don’t compare your success or failure.  No matter what your goal is, don’t compare your progress with others.  You can’t pay off your debt at the same speed as others and you aren’t going to lose weight the same either.  We all have different lives, so live yours and work through your own goals.  The more you compare with others, the more frustrated you’ll get!

In the end whatever your goals are it feels pretty sweet to realize that you did it.  Even halfway there, looking back and seeing your progress is pretty awesome.  So keep taking baby steps!