New Year’s Resolutions – Play the Game of Your Life

 

Illustration, Join My League Courtesy of One Heart Prints, 2017.

Kathy Welborn McLean is an MBA Prep Coach with MLT. Her blog is the first of our Health and Wellness Series for 2017.

Let’s say aloud what we already know: it takes hard work to achieve your New Year’s Resolutions. Having recently defeated 15 family members, including my husband and dad at Pigskin Pick’em in Fantasy Football, I’ve learned that anything worth winning, personal goals, career goals or playing a game, takes time and effort. Static Brain reports that 41% of Americans usually set New Year’s Resolutions and nearly half of those people feel that they never succeed. So I’m checking in on your progress thus far and offering a few tips. Let’s plan our New Year’s Resolutions like a team that is planning to win the Super Bowl and attack our goals one quarter at a time using preparation and persistence!   

Prepare Your Game Plan

Planning to reach and ultimately win the Super Bowl is not for the faint of heart, but neither is trying to lose weight to be healthier or cutting expenses to achieve financial security. Once you’ve honestly asked yourself the hard questions like, “what do I want to achieve and why?”, begin assessing your resources, time, abilities and obstacles.

In football, there are a few questions you may need to ask yourself as a coach:  

• Will you use your running or passing game?
• Are all of your key players healthy and ready?
• Have you prepared plays to counter your competition’s strengths and weaknesses?

In everyday life, these questions look a little different but remain the same in spirit:

• Have you sacrificed something to make room for the extra time and effort you will need to stay motivated?
• Did you make a list of those in your life who will support you in your endeavor?  
• Have you put together solutions to mitigate obstacles that you know will certainly cross your path?  

Execute with Persistence

The greatest games are played one quarter at a time with persistence. Each team counters the other with their absolute best effort. Teams down at the end of the first quarter aren’t called failures.  On Super Bowl Sunday, more than 100 million people worldwide either cheer for their team’s comeback or dread the opposing team’s comeback. A New Year offers the same opportunity. In the first quarter of the calendar year, you have a chance to play to win by adjusting and tweaking your game plan to address challenges or overcome unexpected circumstances.  Don’t consider quitting as an option after only a few weeks or months. Accept that sometimes you may be down, but are never out.  Revamp your strategy at the end of the quarter. At half time (6 months in), revisit your motivation. Analyze the results as you go along and call a timeout if needed to rework your plan. But, get back on the field with a renewed commitment to drive forward – one yard or day at a time.

The bottom line is that achieving your New Year’s Resolutions takes effort, proper planning and doggedness. You have to be intentional in your actions and purpose.  Each morning I have another opportunity to wake up and play the Super Bowl of my life; I hope you’ll cheer me on. If you feel inspired, join me — my league can use a few more players!   

To read Kathy’s first blog post in our Health and Wellness series, click here.