Your New Year’s Brain Powered Resolutions

It’s a New Year, and you know what that means – New Year’s Resolutions!

With great relief you now have clean slate to start over again. You probably have your new goal list started and maybe your find yourself adding some of last year’s well intentioned never started, or never finished ones.

Once you’ve completed your goal list, there’s that sense of satisfaction.  Right there in front of you is your To-Do-List for the year.

At this moment in time you feel quite confident that these are the goals you need to move you forward and bring you closer to the life you envisioned for yourself.

But, if you really want to be successful this time, it might be good idea to look back at your list from last year.  Can you find it? Do you remember everything that you listed? .Do you know how many you reached out of the total number of goals you wrote down?

If your mind is drawing a blank, it just means there’s been a disconnect between last year’s list and your brain. Imagine writing down each goal in a letter and sending it via the US mail. Maybe one or two goal letters get through and the rest get lost. You have the best of intentions when creating your goal list but the receiver – your brain never gets the full list of goals to act on.  Why is that?

Well, we human have a habit of taking our brain for granted.  For the most part, we are action oriented: create a to-do-list, accomplish each item and then cross it off our list. This works well for your grocery list, your errand list, or your scheduled list of events. But, it’s not so easy for your goal list because goals require more than will power –  they actually requires your brain power.

Here are Nine Brain Power Tips to make your New Year’s resolutions happen this year. 

  1. Write down a list of goals. More brain power is activated when the motor action of writing things down occurs.
  2. Start by selecting 3 items. This keeps your brain power focused and prevents run-a-way distraction.
  3. Prioritize your goals from the easiest to the hardest. Your brain power is just like you; it wants to do the easy one first.
  4. Make the goal clear and specifically so your brain power can concentrate on exactly what you want it to do
  5. Depending on your goal, you may need to identify the sequential order of steps needed to be taken. In so doing, it lets your brain power act more effectively and efficiently.
  6. Set a realistic completion date, so your brain power knows the amount of time it has to make your goal happen.
  7. Link your goal to a positive emotion. Your brain power has a direct line to your emotions center. Setting an attitude of confidence keeps your brain power moving in the right direction.
  8. Reward yourself and your brain with something to feel good about when you’ve reached your goal. (Secret: your brain loves chocolate too, especially if it’s organic. Of course, in moderation. After all, you don’t want to spoil it.)
  9. Go back to your original goal list and pick three new goals and follow the same steps. Now you have a brain powered track record of success to follow.

 So it’s time to sit back and let your brain power make it happen.

 Happy New Year to you and your brain.

by Joyce Hansen