Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Self-Improvement Projects

(Let’s plan with the Hello Kitty Calendar and launch some self-improvement projects.)

At the beginning of Year 2012, do you have any New Year’s Resolutions in mind for self-improvement? Get some and learn how to launch them properly.

My New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Lose weight, 10 pounds in 2012.
2. Watch a movie every Sunday (at least 53 movies) in 2012
3. Read one and a half book per week (78 books) in 2012
4. Discover a funny photo daily to make my day.

Haven’t come up with any resolution? Why? Some people don’t believe that their resolutions could come true. Others find the resolutions are more or less the same every year and it’s too boring to go on.

Failures to realize the resolutions are discouraging indeed. However, working out the desirable resolutions are important because they give hints on the aspects that are annoying you, for example, some areas you are not doing well enough or with great anxiety.

To introduce positive changes into our life, we need to work out the wanted resolutions and know how to make them real. Below are some suggestions for your adoption.

Stop making vague wishes

Examples are good health, get inspiration, have enjoyment, learn new things and be happy. When wishes are vague, they won’t take shape in your mind, but dissolve in air easily as if they never existed. We need to be specific and spell out the details. Think about the result and learn the paths to attain it. Search and acquired the knowledge needed. The effort will pay off as your wishes will become clearer and last longer.

Be quantitative


Set time and quantity for your resolution and don’t do these in a casual manner.  Learn the lessons from the past and if, previous experience is unavailable for reference, check the norms to decide on the optimal level. With quantity specified, it is easier to monitor our performance, to find out our strengths and weaknesses, and make appropriate adjustments earlier to improve efficiency and then the progress.

Be realistic and creative

Many people have their daily schedule already stuffed with activities and so, adding new resolutions could overburden the self. Always consider the resources you can afford for each resolution. Be realistic and creative in adjusting your agenda. To avoid overburden and unwanted failures, we could reorganize our current schedule and delete the meaningless activities to steal time for more desirable achievements.

Keep reminding, measuring, recording and monitoring

Print out the resolutions in big words and post them in your room as a reminder to kill your forgetfulness. Since many resolutions demand trial and error, and continuous efforts, we have to work patiently throughout the year.

To lose weight, you may start a new diet and exercise 30 minutes daily. Remember getting a bathroom scale to measure your body weight from the start and keep recording in a regular basis. The data will tell you how effective your effort was. Introduce a new strategy if the current one doesn’t work well enough.

Ask someone to send you encouragements

Have a more serious commitment by sharing your resolutions with others. They may not join in doing the same thing, but their

concern and encouragement may wipe away the loneliness that often tempts people to forsake during the course.

Invite participation from others

It is always nice to have companions in one’s pursuit, but it’s unnecessary to stick to one person only. For example, invite different people to jog with you or listen to your book report at deadline to meet your reading target. Enjoy sharing and the working process could be pleasanter than you imagined.

It’s never too late to think of new resolutions and make an effort to realize them. Hope everyone could succeed and have a prosperous year.

Author’s note:

We have a lot to learn in our lifetime.  Never be contented and don't allow ourselves turning down opportunities that could ease our life.

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