“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
― Jim Rohn
There is a lot to be said for starting a new year. It’s a time when many of us choose to set goals for ourselves or even…dare I write it? Make new year resolutions.
Resolutions are one of the most questionable practices human beings engage in on an annual basis. We set the pace by starting off a new year on the road self-improvement, where the largest percentage of us convert our resolutions to intentions, albeit good ones. Once we have a firm grasp on the new year, usually about six weeks into the new calendar, this becomes the road to hell. Which we have ourselves paved with good intentions.
Be advised, if you didn’t already know this, we do not keep resolutions. Why?
I’m not really sure. What I do know is that it takes time and effort to change your behavior, regardless of what behavior you desire to change.
To establish a habit takes work. Let’s say you resolve to write every day. Good, but a little bit too broad. So state your intention to write x number of words daily. Perhaps your style is more attuned to page count. Then resolve to write x number of pages. I don’t claim I can or will write every day. I do write every day, but that’s not the point. The point is that I like to give myself some wiggle room. I resolve to write five days a week. This allows for disasters out of my control, like getting the flu. It also allows me to not feel guilt if I miss a writing day. Sometimes, you just can’t do it.
If you want to be successful and keep the promises you make to yourself (resolutions), you have to work for it. Working the plan means being realistic and organized. Do not bite off more than you can chew. Writing 10,000 words a day would be great, if you could do it. Not many people can, and god bless those who can accomplish it.
Just a word to the wise, make those goals doable and you will benefit. I commonly exceed my daily goal, in terms of the number of words I like to write, and also my weekly goals because I write six or seven days a week even though I have not committed to more than five in my writing plan.
Habits can be adjusted upward for success.