New Years Resolutions…a list of things I hope to do in the upcoming year…but have no real chance of ever happening! Right?? Come on we all know it. Failed resolutions are a punch-line. Let’s review some of the most common and then I want to give you 4 steps to help improve your odds of actually following through on those promises to yourself.

Weight: I am going to lose weight starting Jan.1st!!! (2-weeks later) I am going to lose weight…starting next Monday!! (2-Mondays later) I am going to lose weight…but if you lose it too fast it will just come back…so I am pacing myself!! (2-weeks later) It isn’t how much weight you lose…it is how you feel!! (2-weeks later) Crap…it’s March and I am busy…I really just want to look good for Summer so I will start at the 1^st of April (April 1^st) This sucks…pass me another donut (I really like Tasty Daylight Donuts) and I will buy bigger pants and longer shirts!

Money: I want to make more money this year and I want to save more money this year! I am going to work harder! I mean I am really going to put in the hours! I am going to show up early and leave late! Now…I have no idea what I will do during those hours or what I will do different than this year to make more money; but watch me. I will make more money! By June your burnt out and not really any further ahead than last year…except now you are tired and are dragging the rest of the year! Plus I saved up some money; but that was a great deal I got on that widget that ‘we’ really ‘needed’. It was half price. Yep 50% off, but 100% of the savings! I will be working the drive-thru when I am 80!

Relationships: I am going to be a better parent! I want to spend more time with my wife/husband this year! I want to enjoy my weekends with friends and family more! I want to see my friends more often! Things come up and you find yourself dealing with kids ONLY when they are in trouble, kissing your wife/husband goodnight saying you will have a date night next week, and you see friends at funerals and weddings. These are the most important people in my life…why not give them the left over time each day, week and month? Good call!

What happens to us? We all intend to do so good! None of us want to fail…right? It’s the donuts…they are so good when they hit your lips! There are a number of theories on why we do this to ourselves. Self-fulfilling prophecies, fear of success, poor self-image, comfort level mindset…most of these are worth blogs and time themselves and are just too deep to cover here. But lets go ahead and admit…no matter why we do it. We make promises that we do not keep! How can we fix this? Well, I hate to use sales as a guideline; but I am going to (so I don’t hate it that bad).

There are 4 things we all can do to increase our odds of keeping those hell-like New Years resolutions.

1)  In sales it is vital to set goals! Having specific goals is even better. If you don’t know where you are going any old road will get you there. Taking a trip without knowing where your going means you really do not know where to start and will quickly get frustrated. Examples:

a.  Weight: Don’t just say I want to lose weight. “I want to lose 20lbs in the next 3-months”

b.  Money: Don’t just work harder and try to save. What are the one or two things you could be doing that would make the biggest difference. Do those things more often…work harder at those specifics and say I want to save 10% of my paycheck each month. Why? For retirement, school for kids, vacation, gift, etc…

c.  I just don’t want to have a date night sometimes…put in on the calendar. Ask now and schedule. Get it on her/his calendar too! That way you will not want to disappoint and you will find that you schedule around it.

d.  Goals are important…be specific with them. Set your goals in your phone a few times a month…maybe on pay-days. ‘Save Money for kids college’.  It goes off and helps keep you on track.

2)  Expectations. A lot of times we fail in sales and life because we don’t manage our expectations. We expect to work out today and lose 5lbs by tomorrow. We live in a ‘reality TV’ world. We see The Biggest Loser contestants lose 15bls a week. That is their reality because they work out 10-hours a day and have their meals prepared. That is not our reality. We have maybe an hour every other day…we drive by fast food and donut shops (I love donuts). So set goals with that in mind. If you don’t run now…then don’t expect to start with 2-miles a day. Set yourself up to win…not to fail. Don’t expect to take your wife on a date night every Friday if you know Fridays are crazy. Be specific with your goals AND be realistic…be sure they are designed for small victories quickly. Victories give you confidence and motivate you. Small victories now lead to winning big later.

3)  I am big on calendars.  Have a master calendar…on your wall…in your phone…in your day planner. Somewhere and include your date nights, include your workouts, include your cold-calls, include your marketing time, include your social media marketing time, include all the things that could help you improve your life. Get it from your brain to paper/phone…somewhere that it can help remind you.

4)  Be accountable.Find someone or a group of people who will hold you responsible. Want to lose weight…get a buddy who expects you to show up at a certain time or asks you about your diet. Tell your daughter you and her are going out next week…and watch her light up! Trust me…she will hold you accountable. Want to make more money…have your spouse hold you accountable…a buddy…your CPA. Want to change work habits…tell someone at work what your plan is. I am going to make 5 more cold-calls each week…I am going to spend X number of hours sending out letters each week. Have them hold you accountable…maybe you could help them as well. Be accountable increases your odds of success…we may disappoint ourselves; but we hate to disappoint others.

Good luck this year and if saving money is on your 2013 ‘to do’ list…give us a call. Everyone at Peoples Home Equity Chattanooga wishes your family the best year yet. Let us know if we can help. www.chattmortgage.com * on facebook at Peoples Home Equity Chattanooga * 423-595-9801 * check us out every Monday night on WGOW Talk Radio 102.3fm at 7pm ‘The Buyers Market’ radio show. Happy New Year!!!!