Can you believe it\u20142014 is here. If you\u2019re like most Americans, you\u2019re riding the high of freshly made New Year\u2019s resolutions. This, you promise yourself, is the year when you\u2019re finally <\/i>going to buckle down and make all the big changes you\u2019ve been dreaming about: losing 50 pounds or getting out of debt or finding a new career.<\/p>\n
But be honest: Are you really<\/i> going to do those things? Or are they going to be a fading memory by February or March?\u00a0 If you\u2019re like most people, your so-called \u201cresolve\u201d will fizzle out before the new habits have a chance to take hold.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s my theory: You may not be making the right<\/i> resolutions. You may need to address issues that are much closer to home\u2014the \u201csmall\u201d issues\u2014before you\u2019re in a good place to tackle the Big Life Changes. After all, those big, sweeping, dramatic changes take a lot of energy, and that energy has to come from somewhere. I believe it\u2019s a natural byproduct of loving and honoring yourself every day<\/i>. Most of us aren\u2019t doing that\u2026so no wonder we\u2019re running on empty.<\/p>\n
Think about it: We get so settled into our routines that we go years\u2014or even decades\u2014without consciously taking a look at our lives to assess what\u2019s working and what\u2019s not. We live our lives by default instead of by design. However, we are constantly growing and changing, and the things that used to<\/i> fit well into our lives may not be honoring who we are today<\/i>.<\/p>\n
So right now, at the beginning of 2014, I urge you to identify the New Year\u2019s resolutions that you need <\/i>to make and to prioritize them over any resolutions that you want <\/i>to make. If you do, I think you\u2019ll be surprised and gratified by how much your life changes over the next 12 months and by how prepared you are in 2015\u2014or earlier!\u2014to tackle other big goals.<\/p>\n
While they are by no means exhaustive, here are three questions that will get your thinking on the right track:\u00a0
\n<\/i><\/p>\n
*Am I taking care of myself? <\/b>Do you feel tired and run down? Are you overextending yourself? Do you pack your days too full and get too little sleep in order to accomplish everything you want to? You may think<\/i> you\u2019re getting ahead, but, in reality, you\u2019re hurting your quality of life. If you make taking care of yourself more of a priority, you\u2019ll feel better about taking care of other people and have more energy throughout the day to imitate Superman or Superwoman.<\/p>\n
Taking time for yourself isn\u2019t selfish; it\u2019s healthy and necessary. Whether you spend a day at the spa or simply take 10 minutes to enjoy a cup of hot tea in the midst of running errands, investing in yourself will make you more resilient and will also reduce your stress and tension.<\/p>\n
*Do I spend time with the right people? <\/b>Think about your friends. Are they supportive or snide? Do you feel energized when you spend time with them, or drained? Are compliments genuine or backhanded? If a friendship isn\u2019t enriching, back away. Choose to spend time with people you genuinely like. Life is too short to spend time with people you don\u2019t enjoy, who try to undercut or out-do you, and with whom you can\u2019t be authentic. You don\u2019t have to be rude to these \u201cfrenemies\u201d but remember: You\u2019re in charge of your calendar. You can gracefully say no to one social activity while accepting another, more positive one.<\/p>\n
Remember, too, that it\u2019s important to set up clear boundaries. In some cases, others may not realize how bad they\u2019re making you feel. When you make it clear what you\u2019ll no longer tolerate, the light bulb will come on, and, hopefully, they\u2019ll adjust their behavior.<\/p>\n
*Does my look still work for me? <\/b>As you move through life, you\u2019re obliged to deal with problems as they crop up, check off never-ending to-dos, and try to survive each day while minimizing stress. No wonder many people simply don\u2019t have the time, energy, or motivation for a makeover. Appearance may not seem important\u2014but it really is. Even if you don\u2019t realize it on a conscious level, your look does<\/i> affect your attitude, confidence level, and self-image\u2026and all of that, in turn, affects what you\u2019re able to accomplish.<\/p>\n
If you aren\u2019t excited about looking in the mirror (and haven\u2019t been for some time), resolve to update your image in 2014. Women, for some ideas on how to get started, click here<\/a> for my thoughts on kick-starting your image\u2019s evolution, and here<\/a> to learn about some common errors that may be sabotaging your style. Men, here<\/a> is a list of seven things I believe you should have in your closet, and here<\/a> you can read about accessories that will spice up and polish your look.<\/p>\n Now, at the beginning of a brand new year, is the perfect time to assess your life and make resolutions that will really be meaningful. So ask yourself these three questions and allow them to lead your mind into other areas of life that you may not be living on purpose. If you answer honestly, you\u2019ll be on the road to reaching a good place in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Can you believe it\u20142014 is here. If you\u2019re like most Americans, you\u2019re riding the high of freshly made New Year\u2019s resolutions. This, you promise yourself, is the year when you\u2019re finally going to buckle down and make all the big changes you\u2019ve been dreaming about: losing 50 pounds or getting out of debt or finding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","wpbf-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=205"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205\/revisions\/206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marlatomazin.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}