Source: http://zenhabits.net/awesome-2016/
By Leo Babauta
It’s the start of a new year, and like me, you’re filled with optimism.
A new year is like a blank slate, and you can fill it with whatever you want!
Unfortunately, most people make a bunch of resolutions and then let them fizzle out by the end of the first month or so. How can we overcome this, and keep our motivation throughout the year to make it as awesome as it can be?
I’m going to offer some ideas to consider. You don’t have to do all of these, but pick a couple and most importantly, put them into action!
Monthly challenges with weekly focuses. The problem with a year-long resolution is almost no one can really stay focused for an entire year. But if you break it into monthly challenges, then it’s much more doable. For example, if you want to get into shape, do a January challenge to go for a walk every day, or run three days a week. Even better: break the month-long challenge into weekly focuses … so you just have to run for three days this week. Then another focus the next week, etc. Once the first month is over, take what you learned and use that to shape your next month’s challenge.
Make someone else pay for your failure. This is a really powerful form of motivation. Set a challenge for yourself for a month, and if you fail, then a friend agrees to have something bad happen to her or him. For example, if you don’t run three times a week for the month of January, then your fri…