After the initial enthusiasm over new years resolutions for 2013 dwindles, keeping motivated, committed and moving toward accomplishing those goals is often tough. For many of us, our resolutions slowly vanish from our daily thoughts and actions and we wind up creating those same EXACT resolutions the following year.

 

So what’s the secret formula to staying on track with your new years resolutions? 

Taking ACTION and staying CONSISTENT! To hell if conditions aren’t perfect, or if this circumstance isn’t quite ideal or that person isn’t following through the way they said they would. We’ve got to take all these principles learned throughout the years and put them into action.

This can become another one of those “Duh, Harv” moments. “Of course you have to take action and stay consistent.” But are these two principles that most people follow and really live by?

That’s exactly where a lot of people get stuck and give up on their goals, even those with greater awareness and knowledge. You know you want to work out, need to get into better shape for the sake of generating more energy to work your mission. But what step is often the hardest to take? It’s not the goal you set nor the resolution you create for yourself. It’s the first step that's the hardest!

Sometimes getting the ball rolling can feel like pushing a boulder uphill, metaphorically speaking. You need to build the next muscle and final spiritual muscle that separates the successful from those still waiting at the gate: momentum.

Momentum is that force that makes it easier for someone who’s successful to do what’s right than to do what’s wrong. Momentum is that process of getting that snowball moving. The hardest part about working out is getting to the gym.  Once you get there, it’s not that hard to do.

When you’re in motion, that’s when things begin to line up, not before (that goes for you perfectionist!). A body in motion will remain in motion and a body at rest will remain at rest. What do we want to do? Get into motion! Once you’re there, it gets easier. We already know that. Now we need to just do it.

What in your life do you need to get started and adjust as you go? What have you been waiting for? What’s the fear? Is that true or did you just make it up?

For 2013, I challenge you to set smaller, incremental goals for yourself to gain momentum, and then adjust those goals as you go. Don’t forget to celebrate EVERY goal accomplished, no matter how small.

Now we want to hear from you! What changes will you make in 2013 to get the ball rolling and really gain some momentum for the best year of your life? Share your plans in the comments below and let our online community support you and give you ideas to move you in the right direction!

Happy New Year!  

 

Happy New Year! I am excited to share with you exciting, new journeys and experiences as 2012 reveals itself to all of us.

With each new year comes changes big and small . . . whether we like it or not!  And because change is inevitable, and because we have just entered a new year, I wanted to touch on this subject just a little deeper.

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Christmas and New Year’s celebrations, at their roots, have had historic importance worldwide for thousands of years. Many ancient peoples celebrated the Winter Solstice with different kinds of festivals and rituals with themes of death, birth, gifting, praising, etc.

 

Some historians trace New Year traditions back to the Babylonians of 4,000 years ago. For them, this time of year meant paying off debts or returning borrowed items, a different way “resolving” their issues.  There was a sense of accountability as well as celebrating what’s to come. We have our parties and Auld Lang Syne too, yet our resolutions tend to focus on ourselves: losing weight; quitting smoking; or making a million dollars—being better or more than we were before.

 

You don’t need New Year’s to remind you to stay on track toward your goals. Success-building is a daily routine, yes or yes? The fact is, though, that most people are not going to keep their resolutions. Some surveys suggest only about 8% will stick to their resolve by year’s end, and a whopping 45% will fail by the end of January!

 

While the reasons range from fear of success or failure to resolving the wrong things for the wrong reasons, maybe we should resolve instead to grow every day, one day at a time. This is what it really means to be present. It’s not a coincidence that we use the same word to recognize the now-moment as we do to define a gift.

 

The seed of all the great things in our lives—who we are; who we want to be; what motivates our desires, what determines whether or not we achieve success—is happening right now. Everything. If we want quality answers that are meant to ease our anxieties about the future, it means we have to ask quality questions now, which is the quality of present moment awareness. As our awareness expands so does our vision, our ability to be in tune with what is happening—what will happen—as our intuition guides us in spite of uncertainty.

 

Our ancestors wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for planning and anticipation of the inevitability of change, guiding their ability to plant, harvest and know when not to. Nor would they have had reasons to ritualize endings, beginnings, celebration of success or reflect on past mistakes if it weren’t for planning for the change of seasons. It’s in our best interest to plan as much as we can to work toward what we want to see happen. The truth is, though, we don’t always know what’s coming around the corner. We can take educated guesses, but there’s no such thing as absolute certainty.

 

In the end, all we ever really have is now, and this is where we will find our richness. Now is when we can reflect, think, make decisions, act or not act—not tomorrow. There’s always only now. Giving yourself to the present moment is the best gift of all—it’s the resolution that lasts a lifetime, every minute of every day. It’s in the present that all things become possible.

 

From all of us here, Happy Holidays and have a great start to another year of growth, learning, happiness, success, and richness!

 

For your freedom,

T. Harv Eker