SUE'S BLOG...
January 4, 2012
Resolutions ... sticking to it!
Every new year marks a clean slate; a chance to take stock of our lives and make positive changes for the future. Many people engage in the long-standing tradition of making New Year’s resolutions to improve their lives and make the coming year “the best year ever.”
I’ve been known to take part in this exercise as well. One of my most successful New Year’s resolutions took place in 2007 when I lost 60 lbs and have been feeling great ever since! Some of my work and personal resolutions for 2012 include:
- planning for the best possible communities in the two new developments at Winston Churchill/Eglinton and the McCracken farm lands and ensuring the needs of all residents are addressed and met;
- establishing and working with the Task Force on the issues related to the flooding in Lisgar, and also working with the Ninth Line Task Force to develop ideas related to Ward 10’s community centre.
- working toward a common synergy at City Council that promotes the best interests of all citizens of Mississauga.
- writing my blogs on a more regular basis. :-)
- finding a healthy work-home balance.
Lofty goals to be sure!
It’s no secret that a high percentage of personal, life-enhancing, well-intentioned resolutions are broken within two months. So are they worth the effort, or simply another exercise doomed for failure? Personally, I think it is better to make the attempt to improve ourselves – even for a little while – than to fail to even try.
I’ve found the best way to keep a resolution is to make it practical, specific and attainable. State your goal and include strategies on how you plan to meet it. Recognize what challenges might get in the way of meeting your goal and what you can do in advance to overcome them. Set a realistic timeline; if most resolutions don’t make it to Valentine’s Day, then set a goal to keep your resolution until Valentine’s Day. (It takes about six weeks to develop a habit so that just may be long enough to keep on going well into the year.) And share your goal with someone you trust to help you stay on track; in most cases, this person should not be your spouse or partner, especially if your resolution has anything to do with losing weight!
So what about you? Have you made any resolutions this year or in the past? Please tell me about it—after all, it just might help you keep it. I’d love to share a collection of Ward 10 residents’ resolutions (anonymously, as you wish) in a future blog or newsletter. Write to me at Sue.McFadden@mississauga.ca.