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How To Keep Your Resolutions
Here are some decisions I’ve made in the past.
Age 13: Never smoke or drink
Age 14: Never drink soft drinks
Age 15: Never bet money on football
Age 16: Stop playing computer games
Age 19: Stop watching TV
Age 19: Stop instant messaging / uninstall MSN messenger
Age 21: Only hang out with positive and passionate people
How many of these decisions have I kept?
All of them.
How do I do this?
I never really thought twice about this, but a recent conversation with a friend forced me to probe further to uncover the secret… which turns out to be nothing too crazy.
But I wanna share it with you anyway, in case you are struggling to stick to a resolution you made 3 months ago.
The friend I mentioned had accused me of having superhuman willpower. But no, willpower wasn’t a key ingredient at all. In fact, those decisions were as easy to stick to as “I will not beat up senior citizens”.
The way I see it, keeping a resolution starts with being clear about what you want, and what you don’t want in your life.
And I admit I don’t have much desire to beat up senior citizens. However, I’m clear that
- I can want many things.
- However, I will always want some things more than others.
- To stick to a resolution, I have to want something more, and want competing things less.
Sounds simple? I’m a simple man, what can I say…. See my self-improvement BS in action!
REAL WORLD EXAMPLE
I’ve always wanted to start a gym routine, but somehow “cannot find the time”, or “feel lazy”.
Is it because I don’t want to work out? Of course I do. But at any given moment, I always wanted to work / sleep / be comfortable on my bed much more than I wanted to hit the gym.
Well, I made a decision 2 months ago to start a gym routine, and I’ve been quite consistent. Here’s how I did it:
- Increase how much I want to work out
- Decrease how much I want to do other stuff
How did I magically “want to work out more”? And double-magically “want to do other stuff less”?
I used this magic crystal staff I picked up during my Viking raids.
Apart from that, I associated other things I really want with working out, like having a sexy body and having a sharper, clearer mind. Lumping many desirable items together with logic makes me want to work out more.
Then, I associated many things I don’t want with the alternatives… I usually skip the gym due to “I have something to work on”, or seeking the comfort of home. So, I tied “feeling fat”, “feeling lethargic” and “cannot think straight” with skipping a session at the gym.
I keep these things in mind, and eventually it gets internalized and I never have to think twice.
CONCLUSION
Once I’m clear about what I really want in my life, the decisions are a no-brainer. All the decisions I listed above didn’t take me much effort.
If it’s a tough decision to make, and an even tougher one to stick by, I would question what I want, and how badly I want it.
And in many cases, the question is… Do I want change? Or do I want to stick to my comfort zone a bit more?
//
If this is useful to you, let me know. If this somehow gets you killed, just forget about it.

swen says:
haHahHahahaha….how motivating. somehow i expected the list to be longer than that, but that will do actually!
but there;s just one thing “Age 19: Stop watching TV”
WHAT THE HELL!? thats crap.
now make another list,
“Age 22: Start watching TV” ;p
khailee says:
Age 22: Beat up Swen with magic crystal staff whenever I see her
Lezel says:
NO ONE CAN NOT WATCH TV WHETHER THEY WANT TO OR NOT!!! Dude, you have the mother of all tv in your house and its even connected to a dish!!! Furthermore, YOU WERE ON A TV SHOW?!?!?!?!?! Your list is super FLAWED :) But you do have superhuman powers. That much is true.
khailee says:
dare u doubt my superpowers????
to be specific i dont turn on TV intentionally. watch dvds - yes, once in 2 weeks i guess.
but tv is different. i used to watch so much MTV n channel V! it had to end.
i may have taken it too far tho….
i havent watched american idol, surviror, amazing race, whats that inxs thing, or all the stuff everyone seems to know about. i dont even download stuff to watch. havent seen Lost, Prison Break, Heroes etc…
bodicea says:
“Age 13: Never smoke or drink”
If my memory serves me right, didn’t some substance abuse result in you table dancing or some shuffling shit on New Year’s Eve? :P
khailee says:
i do that when im sober hahaha dont get me started on what u were doing at that party ;P
khailee says:
Age 22: Beat up bodicea & lezel up with magic crystal staff too
Toothpick says:
“If this somehow gets you killed, just forget about it.”
If I’m already dead then how am I supposed to forget about it? Dude, I’m ALREADY dead!
;o)
bodicea says:
rofl. more people to beat up now? :P
Lezel says:
you wont be 22 for much longer. 4 more weeks dude :)
khailee says:
no. im 22 forever.
swen says:
haha living in denial!? haha forever 22
alex lam says:
if you watch joost or youtube, it’s tv. :D
khailee says:
ok alex u got me ;)