We don’t make resolutions at our school. We set goals.
The difference? Well, a resolution is nothing more than a dream. A goal, though, is a dream with a deadline.
People often forget that the root of the word “resolution” is “resolve.” Without resolve, you will never fulfill your resolutions.
By far, the most popular resolution I hear is to lose weight. That’s a great resolution, but there are key pieces missing.
How much weight will you lose? By when? How are you going to lose it?
Part of our black belt success system is the following five rules which help greatly with making resolutions work. You don’t need to wait until black belt to realize results either. Here they are:
Rule 1: Know exactly what you want.
Taking the weight loss example, how much weight do you want to lose? When do you want to lose it by? Without these two critical metrics, your efforts lack the necessary focus to achieve success. Also, you’ll never know if you were successful in the first place.
Again, a resolution without a deadline is nothing more than a dream. It is very important that your resolutions have structure.
Rule 2: Have a Plan
Once you have decided what you want and have put some structure in place, you need to figure out how you will achieve your goal. If your goal is to lose weight, maybe your plan is to reduce your calorie intake to a certain level. Maybe your plan is to work out 4-5 times per week. Whatever the case, it is important to have a plan of attack.
Seneca, a pretty smart fella who lived at the height of the Roman empire said, “If one does not know toward which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
Rule 3: Have a good success coach
For students, it’s me. For those looking to lose weight, maybe it’s a personal trainer or a service like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. It’s important to have a knowledgeable person guiding you through your journey and, more importantly, holding you accountable.
Rule 4: Take consistent action
This is often where people fall short. Consistent means daily. In some cases, it means hourly. But every day, you must be aware of your goal and take action toward achieving it. Consistent action produces tiny results that add up to big things. As they say, nothing breeds success like success. Those little successes cause you to achieve bigger successes.
Rule 5: Review and renew your goals
Setting a goal that is unattainable is useless. But, it happens all the time! If you find that you have set an unreasonable goal, keep track of it and adjust. DON’T GIVE UP, just tweak the goal to make more sense for your life. An additional rule I like to throw in there is to “Stand there with some attitude and look good.” Hold your head up with confidence while you’re working toward your goal. Be the person that you want to be on your way to being that person. It’s a funny way of thinking about it but it’s true.
After all, you’re not really looking for a “new you.” You might need to change something about yourself, work harder on something, or get better at it. But you’re awesome the way you are!
The word “Become” in our dojang means that you’re going to become a little better version of you, one moment at a time.
And, we’re here to help you do it, EVERY DAY.
Master Gorino’s Tae Kwon-Do offers a trial program for individuals and families in Buffalo, NY and the surrounding areas that allows you to get a feel for the different classes, meet our instructors, and experience our dojang. It’s a great way to see if Tae Kwon-Do is right for you. To learn more or to sign up, register online or call (716) 836-KICK (5425) and a member of our team will follow up with you on next steps. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals. Pil-Sung!
