Will 2011 be Better than 2010?

As you read this there are less than 7 days remaining in the year 2010. As the year comes to an end, I wanted to ask you a few questions. If you can answer these questions honestly, you'll have have gotten off to a great start.

• How has 2010 been for you? Where does it rate among the other years of your life? Best yet? Worst ever? Why?
• Will 2011 be better? How?
• What do I need to do to make 2011 my best year yet?

Almost everyone has gone through the exercise of creating New Year's resolutions (have you ever bought a new gym membership on Jan 1st?) The question is, if they haven't worked for you, why try again? Or put another way, are New Year's resolutions a waste of time?

According to the Opinion Corporation of Princeton, NJ, 25% of people have NEVER realized a single New Year's Resolution and more than 90% have failed to achieve their resolutions at least once in their life. That might lead some to conclude that New Year's resolutions are a waste of time and doomed to failure. I don't think that's true.

If you read the data another way you see that 75% of people HAVE realized their resolutions at least once in their lives and 10% do it EVERY YEAR! If those resolutions are meaning life changes, then it is absolutely worth the effort. In fact another study sited in issue 4 (2002) of the Journal of Clinic Psychology states that people who set New Year's Resolutions are 10 TIMES more likely to attain their goals!

So clearly setting New Year's Resolutions can be a very worthwhile exercise. The question then becomes, what makes the difference between those who rarely achieve their resolutions and those special 8-10% who regularly employ New Year's resolutions to make positive changes in their lives? What can you do to ensure that you stand the best chance of success?

With some study and research, you discover three key actions that you can take to give yourself the best chance of succeeding at your New Year's Resolutions.
1. Consistent with your core values - You can not expect to realize a resolution that is inconsistent with who you are as a person. For example, someone who doesn't think money is important will have a hard time setting a New Year's resolution to gain wealth. Likewise, for someone for whom eating out a lot is important, losing 20lbs may not be a realistic resolution. So when setting resolutions ensure that the resolution matches your values. If they don't you have two choices: a) change your resolution b) change your values. Option A is certainly easier.

2. Be Exciting To You - Your resolutions have to resonate with you. They have to create feelings of excitement for you. If you aren't pumped to achieve your resolution, you have little chance of achieving them. Setting a resolution because you know it's good for you, is of little use. It's a nice idea, but that's all it will ever be. If you can't generate what Vince Pocente calls "emotional buzz" within yourself about your resolutions, they simply will not happen.

3. Create a Clear Vision of Your Future - Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is critical for ensuring your success. You can not achieve anything if you won't now exactly what it is you're trying to do. A clear vision of what success looks like for you, is an essential part of the formula. So before you decide on what you want your resolutions to be, work on creating a clear vision of where you want your life to be in December of 2011. Then work backwards figuring out the actions you can take to get yourself from where you are to where you want to be in twelve months. Those actions should be the basis for your resolutions.

New Year's is an exciting time of year. Especially for people like me because it is the one time of the year when everyone is thinking about the things I think about all year. It is the one time of the year when most people are evaluating their lives and focusing on their future and what they want to achieve. I encourage you to use some of your time in this next week to do the same. Sit down and set some resolutions. Following the essential steps given above, you stand a great chance of succeeding.

Let me know how it goes...

The Gift of Giving

During the past two weeks our city has engaged in what has become a holiday tradition, The Sue Stultz Turkey Drive. Each year our city rallies around a local hero, and recently elected MLA, to gather turkeys in order to provide a Christmas dinner to families who might not otherwise be able to afford it.

This year's drive had an ambitious goal for a city of 100,000 people. They wanted to collect 3612 turkeys in order to provide one for each registered family who needed one. So when the news report came on the air on Thursday (one day before the end of the drive) saying that they were still more than 1500 turkeys shy of the goal, I was disappointed but not surprised. What happened next however, blew me away... by the end of the next day, our little city not only reached the goal, they surpassed it. The grand total; 5255! In less than 24hrs, the people of my home town donated nearly 3000 turkeys!

I was pretty proud to be from Moncton this week, but hearing that news also made me ask a question; why? What is it that causes people to hear about an opportunity to give and then actually take action and do it? What causes people to take the time to go out, buy a turkey, and deliver it so that someone they don't know can have Christmas dinner? It's the same thing that makes someone volunteer in the Peace Corps, or travel to Haiti to help quake victims. The gift of giving.

If you've never experienced the gift of giving, you're missing out on one of the most joyful and meaningful experiences a human being can have. The feeling of knowing that you've made a difference in the life of someone else is the greatest emotion one can experience. Far beyond the fun of going to a great concert or buying some new gadget or outfit you want, the experience of giving to someone else goes to the core of your soul, and lasts a lot longer than emotions experienced when we "get"; it truly is better to give than to receive.

So as the busy holiday season gets into full gear and you rush around doing your last minute shopping and scratching people off your gift list, take a few minutes to appreciate the opportunity you're being given. The opportunity to make a difference. And don't forget all those who aren't on your list but still need you. Support a local charity, buy someone on the street a cup of coffee, donate a turkey:) Do something for someone else just because. Whatever you give you'll receive a gift better than anything that can be put under a tree; the gift of giving.