Your New Year’s Resolutions 2015 Will Fail, Unless…

You can either beat the odd of 100:4, or think and act differently about achieving your NYRs.  According to the Statisticbrain.com website, of the 45% Americans who make NYRs, only 8% achieve them.  So, if you belong to the absolute 4% achievers, then pat yourself on the back.  For the other 96% of us who keep making the list over and over, let’s approach the problem differently, shall we?

Here are the Top-5 resolutions of 2014, and we can expect a very similar list for 2015:

1.       Lose weight

2.       Get organized

3.       Spend less, save more

4.       Enjoy life to the fullest

5.       Stay fit and healthy

We can see each of these five addresses a health, a wealth, a time management, or a combination to create a better quality of life for a desired “new and improved” us!  However, most of us fail because we try to correct the outcomes rather than solve the root cause of these intertwined resolutions.  Consider this mind-boggling information:

A.      The US News & World Report claimed nearly 67% of Americans are categorized as overweight based on Body Mass Index indicator.  This explains why losing weight is number 1 on the NYR list.  Moreover, we spend north of $60B a year on weight loss products and services, or roughly $300 per person who tries to lose weight.  For a typical family of four, that’s $1,200 that can be used for more productive family activities.  But wait, there is more.

B.      Based on Gallup.com, an average family of four in the U.S. spends $151-200 per week on groceries.  That equates to $600-800 per month, or $7-10K per year.  Now, here’s a crazy idea… cut that bill in half!  Spend less money on food, eat less calories, save time on cooking and cleaning.  Now, we solve numbers 1, 3, and 5 on the list with $3,600-4,800 savings annually.  After teaching cardio kick-boxing at the YMCA for six years and 9,000 members, trust me when I say this cliché, “We are what we eat.” So, eat less and we will have save more money and time for the next point.

C.      The Washingtonian reported we adults exercise less than 17 minutes a day or 2 hours combined in a week.  That’s less than a third if we aim for in items 4 and 5.  My suggestion is to start with taking a leisure walk after dinner with the spouse or family 3 times a week and then slowly adds a weekend hike or bike ride.  Eventually, adopt a lifestyle of daily fitness routine with cardio, dance, walk, swim, or bike options.  Everyone I trained enjoy it.

In summary, would you like to have $4.8-6K in savings every year with a radical way to solve an old problem?  Yes, cut that grocery bill in half for the next 30 days, and you will like what you see in the mirror and in your wallet.  Best of luck to you in 2015, and let me know if you decide to think and act differently today.

Blogger Bio

Jimmy Thai, DTM founded the Leadership Foundation Academy to develop future leaders with passion and compassion.  He speaks and coaches Fortune500 companies to re-infuse the American Pride in corporate America and the American Dream to the world.  He went to prison twice before turning 17, and today lives in American Finest City – San Diego, California.  Jimmy earned 2 Master’s degrees MBA and MSEE from California State University, and BSEE degree from the 20^th best university in the world - University of California San Diego.  He welcomes your comments and loves to collaborate with you on Change Leadership, Motivational Management, Decision Analysis, the ABC Secrets of Appearance - Body language - Conversation, and Asian Business Development. 

In 2015, Leadership Foundation Academy has donated over $10K USD to its Build a School – Leave a Legacy program, which built 2 kindergarten schools in Ha Giang and Yen Bai provinces.  Our 3^rd project is to construct a 30-m bridge in Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau to save little students from drowning on their way to school.