It
is the time of year when many people make their resolutions for the year.
The definition of a resolution is 'a firm decision to do or not do
something'. A lot of people say they will give up something such as
stopping smoking, drinking, gambling, shopping or doing something liking
joining a gym, losing weight, etc. You get the idea. The problem with
resolutions and why they are not successful is for most people they are not
written specific goals followed up with an action plan.
Resolutions
are just thoughts of something ideally would be nice to accomplish. Everyone
around you is talking about their resolutions so you come up with something for
yourself. Within the first few weeks of the year, gym memberships go way
up and attendance starts to dwindle within a very short time. Why is it
most people just don't succeed at their resolutions and yet every year they set
themselves up for failure?
It
is discouraging when your resolutions have already failed you and you still
have the rest of the year to go with potentially a why bother attitude.
Why
not decide this year on one big goal and no New Year's resolutions. Write out
one very SPECIFIC goal. Make sure it is MEASURABLE. Draft up an ACTION
plan on how you will accomplish your goal. Make sure the goal is
REALISTIC and give it a specified TIME to achieve. Everything should be
stated in the positive and not what you don't want. Example: I would like
to weigh 150 lbs. not I want to lose 10 lbs.
An
example of a SMART goal written out would be: I want to weigh 150 lbs. by
December 31st, 2017. I will achieve this by working out three times a
week and getting a personal trainer once a week. I will bring my lunch to
work and treat myself once a month to eating out. I will design a meal
plan with healthy tasty choices to keep myself motivated. I will join a
support group. This is only an example of how to write a goal to help you
be successful. It is amazing the higher percentage of success you can
have by choosing this method instead of the wish list of most people.
Make
2017 your best year ever. You may surprise yourself how easy it is to
accomplish your goals by having them be SMART. You can do this in all
aspects of your life.
Wishing
you a very prosperous and successful 2017.
Linda J. Levesque, CFP®, FMA, FCSI,
Director,
Private Client Group, Senior Investment Advisor, Insurance Advisor
Levesque Wealth Planning
HollisWealth, a division of Scotia Capital
Inc.
HollisWealth Insurance Agency Ltd.
One Corporate Plaza, 2075 Kennedy Road, 5th
Floor, Toronto, ON M1T 3V3
Tel: 416-412-8018 / 1-800-322-4030 Fax: 416-332-6772
linda@levesquewealthplanning.com
Linda
J. Levesque, CFP®, FMA, FCSI
Sr.
Investment Advisor
Director,
Private Client Group HollisWealth Insurance Advisor
HollisWealth
Insurance Agency Ltd.
Levesque
Wealth Planning
HollisWealth,
a division of Scotia Capital Inc.
‘Saving Today for a
Richer Tomorrow’™
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This
article was prepared solely by Linda J. Levesque who is a registered
representative of HollisWealth® (a division of Scotia Capital Inc.,
a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund and the Investment Industry
Regulatory Organization of Canada). The
views and opinions, including any recommendations, expressed in this article
are those of Linda J. Levesque only and not those of HollisWealth®. Levesque Wealth Planning is a personal trade
name of Linda J. Levesque.
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