Well, it’s 2019. Did you make it all the way to midnight on Tuesday night? I did, but barely. I think that afternoon nap helped.

Maybe, like much of the world, you spent part of Tuesday evening (or even before that) making your New Year’s resolutions. What are you going to accomplish this year? Losing weight? Eating healthy? Going to bed earlier? Personally, I have three things I want to do in 2019: I’m going to 1) learn to play the guitar, 2) read one personal or professional development book every month, and 3) go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night.

Here’s a shocking statistic: according to Scranton University, only 8% of people keep their New Year’s resolutions. Some years I’ve been successful with my resolutions, other years are utter failures. In my experience, the times I’ve been able to keep my resolutions have had a few things in common.

Three Ways to Stick with a resolution:

1. Talk About It

   A lot. To everyone who will listen. This year, no less than 40 people were in the classroom when I decided 2019 was the Year of the Guitar, so now I’m more motivated to do it. I’ll be seeing many of them at various times throughout the year, and they’ll all be asking about it because it’s now a thing they know is interesting to me, an easy topic of conversation. Plus, there’s a certain amount of reinforcement that happens every time I tell someone I’m learning to play guitar. Like the power of positive thinking.

2. Take Baby Steps

   One of my wife’s goals for this year is to develop the habit of drinking more water. But she’s not trying to jump all the way to eight cups of water in a day. She knows that would spell failure from the get-go. Instead, she’s slowly increasing how much water she drinks. One small change is much easier to add to her daily routine than many all at once or one large change, and it will help her body get used to the increased water intake.

3. Get Support

   Of the people who were with me in that classroom (see number 1), four of them are going to be deliberate about holding me accountable. As in, we check in with each other periodically so they can hold my feet to the fire if I don’t continue making progress toward my goal and I can keep them working toward theirs.

Practicing what We Preach

At Huizenga Law, we use these three strategies with every new client. Whether you have “getting a will” or “set up a trust” on your list of 2019 resolutions or you find yourself facing an unexpected nursing home stay, it can be overwhelming to figure out how to achieve the change you want or need to make.

• Our Legacy Guard Process utilizes the principle of “kizen” – small, deliberate change over time – to help you implement your plan.
• We seek to support you as you make the change you need by helping you set deadlines and giving you the tools you need to accomplish the next task.
• And we help you talk about your plan with everyone who needs to hear about it through Family Care Meetings and our Legacy Guard program.

Let me be among the first to wish you good luck with your resolutions for this year. And if estate planning is on your list, take that first baby step and call 712-737-3885 to schedule a Mutual Interview with our office today.