Everyday, not just beginning of year, is a time to carry out resolutions

It’s that time of year when New Year’s resolutions tend to generate the motivation for us to do something we’ve obviously left slip through the cracks in the year prior or, for many, several years prior. Losing weight, making/saving more money, being more organized, the list goes on. Personally, I’ve never been too fond of making New Year’s resolutions. Over the years I’ve realized that the beginning of the New Year shouldn’t be the only time to start the pursuit of new goals or change the direction of my own life.

While I’m not your ideal health/fitness commentator, losing weight seems to be one of the most popular goals to undertake each January. For anyone that is preparing for what could be their annual recommitment to health in 2011, I thought I’d share just a small bit of my own experience to simplify a subject that has been over-complicated. After putting on some weight during my college years, I’ve recently been able to work my way back to where I was shortly before starting college. I didn’t sign-up for Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, or start eating at Subway every day. I didn’t buy P90X or Insanity workout DVD’s. I did it using what I guess now is considered the old fashioned way. By jogging several times a week and recognizing the amount of calories I eat each day. It didn’t all happen in a single day, week, or month, but was gradual over time. The products mentioned above are great business ideas because they play off the illusion that there is an easy, no effort way to lose weight. It’s something those seeking to lose weight are often in denial about the fact that it’s not an easy fix, but a long-term endeavor achieved slowly over time.

In a more broad sense, small changes made each day make a big difference in the long run. It’s really a mental game, taking motivation and discipline to stay focused on things that require such a long time commitment. The products mentioned above promise short-term results to people who might be attracted to buy one over the other for a variety of different reasons, but they all apply the proven principle of burning more calories than you eat to reach your goal. The simple idea of taking it day by day can be applied to more than weight loss though. It can apply to saving money, developing a skill-set, building a relationship, and many other things.

I’ve worked with many successful business leaders, but one of the more memorable things I remember one of them once saying was “It’s the small things we do right everyday that can add up over time and make us better than our competitors.” Those small steps are what successful companies, organizations, and individuals alike take to reach both financial and physical health over time with a patient and driven approach. It can be applied anywhere from weight loss to building a business’s reputation to learning how to improve your golf game.

While it’s good to think big with the beginning of the New Year, think big long-term. You’ll see more sustainable and stable results. Whether it be losing an average of a tenth of a pound or saving $10 a day, it adds up over the course of a year. While those small amounts won’t generate the instant gratification people so deeply seek sometimes, it could add up to close to 30 pounds and over $3,000 dollars by this time next year.