Change the odds in your favor

Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.
                                                                                                    Arnold Palmer

My wife and I completed our 2019 Dream Board on New Year’s Day. It is now hanging on the wall in our office.
 
I was encouraged when several of our grandchildren called to let me know they were working on their Dream Boards. Reading about the statistics regarding why New Year’s Resolutions don’t last long, I encouraged them to start an annual practice that I know is successful. A full 35% of resolutions are broken before the end of January. Apparently, distractions and the busyness of daily life create the obstacles. In the survey taken at the end of any given year only 23% of New Year’s resolutions were kept.
 
Even during these retirement years things constantly happen in my life that distract me from my goals. As I stated in my previous posting my success rate last year was 50% in spite of the many challenges throughout the year. The following practices help me to keep a higher percentage rate of success.
 
Passion
Accomplishing a higher rate of success than the national average of kept resolutions becomes a reality because we are very passionate about those dreams. It is exciting to create experiences that enrich our lives and the lives of our family.
 
Visual
I am a very visual person; our Dream Board encourages me to keep moving forward to bring those desired experiences into reality. Those dreams could be easily forgotten if they were just written in a notebook and put away in a desk drawer.
 
Determination
Regardless of setbacks I keep the faith. Like most of us I like to have control of events and outcomes. I have to remind myself to “Let Go and Let God.” To support my efforts in manifesting these goals I often have to make adjustments in my strategies and priorities. That is not difficult as long as I keep reminding myself of my intentions and goals.
 
Celebration
Whenever “a dream comes true,” I immediately express my gratefulness in my journal. We also celebrate in some special way. It is truly a gift that our family is participating in the Dream Board. Sharing our success with them enhances our excitement.  
 
Now that holiday celebrations are over you may want to spend some time this weekend to complete your 2019 Dream Board. Making that extra effort can tremendously increase your success rate in accomplishing those resolutions for 2019.