Nine percent. That’s how many Americans follow through with their New Year’s resolutions. People see the beginning of each year as a chance to start over and strive to be the best version of themselves. So why do so many pull up short of the finish line?

In my experience, it starts with how we attack goals. Like most people, I used to jot mine down without considering how each specific one contributed to improving my whole self. That all changed after chance encounters with two books: James Allen’s “As a Man Thinketh” and Rock Thomas’ “The Power of Your Identity.” Allen likened people’s thoughts to a garden that needs to weed out bad ideas and nurture the good ones. Thomas, meanwhile, believes life is made up of eight gardens we should care for regularly.

Both immediately took my mind to goal-setting. Gardens die if we just leave them to fend for themselves. They depend on attention — as well as water and light — to survive. Goals also require attention and accountability. Fleshing them out, categorizing them, and diving into them headfirst can produce results that yield the magnificent, fully lived life you want to lead.

Where Should We Start Digging?

In my book “Wealth Can’t Wait”, I use gardens as a metaphor for maintaining balance when setting goals. We talk about how gardens die if we just leave them to fend for themselves; they depend on attention — as well as water and light — to survive.

Goals also require attention and accountability. Fleshing them out, categorizing them, and diving into them headfirst can produce results that yield the magnificent, fully lived life you want to lead.

Before we start to plant, we need to diagnose where growth is needed. When applying this concept to my own life, I decided to get my hands dirty inside these eight gardens: family/relationship, spiritual/contribution, physical/nutrition/health, intellectual/education, lifestyle/adventure, environment/tribe, personal financial, and business.

Why these areas? Because the idea is balance. Most people can rattle off a bunch of goals, but you might have one tied to health and five tied to your job. Designating categories such as family, intellect, or finances as gardens in need of equal maintenance eventually produces balance everywhere.

By placing each goal in the relevant garden, neglected plots come into focus. Should your successful career come at the expense of your health? Should the 20 years spent building wealth to care for my family mean more than the 50 years I could spend doing it by paying attention to my health and wellness?

Of course not! Sometimes, there’s an all-or-nothing mindset with resolutions and goals in general. The key to making them last is to think about not only what you want to sprout from your garden, but also the best means to inspire growth.

Here’s how to do it:

Plot the layout

Relax, take a breath, and go sit down somewhere. Spitball some ideas of what you’d like to achieve instead of labeling it as some kind of “goal-setting session” in bold, all-capital letters.

Make it fun. Brainstorm and record what you’re passionate about. Next, write down what it is that you need to do. You might need to spend more time with your family or improve your diet.

Print and post the goals where you can see them on a regular basis: on your screensaver, on your iPhone, on the mirror in the bathroom, or on the refrigerator. Ingrain them into your psyche.

Talk to fellow green thumbs

Your list of goals may be 15 to 30 items long. Pick gardens that line up with your lifestyle. Then, place each idea in a specific category.

Afterward, share with others. Rap with colleagues and friends. Pick one another’s brains. You might take one of their goals, or they might take one of yours. Either way, someone gets inspired and a life gets enriched.

Use every inch of dirt

Don’t waste an inch of your fertile ground. Find gaps where you might lack goals and areas that are too crowded. Too much in your finance garden? Incentivize yourself by planting more seeds in your lifestyle garden.

Success requires motivation, which often comes from being kind to yourself. Gaps in any garden are a red flag. Script your own life, and start asking questions. What would I like in this area? Why do I have scarcity there? These queries can help you determine how best to use your garden.

See Also: 4 Sure-Fire Ways to Motivate Yourself to Reach Your Goals

Tend to your seedlings

Finally, make sure you review your life against your goals on a regular basis. Check things off when you finish them, keep your template or checklist handy, and don’t neglect it any more than you would one of your gardens.

This checklist shouldn’t be static. It should be constantly evolving. Goals should disappear when achieved and be replaced by new ones, just as early snowdrops and crocuses are replaced by lilies, tulips, and hyacinths.

See Also: How to Set Personal SMART Goals To Succeed 

Many of us strive for something shiny and new at the start of each year. Give your resolutions the forethought and care they need. That way, when you plant your gardens’ seeds in the cold winter months at the start of the year, they can mature into something to admire as the calendar continues to turn.

 

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Take a look around. Yes, right now. Pause the movie, save your place in your book. Put down that glass of wine and that cupcake and look around at your space. Is your home looking a little dull, a little less you, these days? Maybe it’s time for some changes, time to express your colorful self.

Interior decorators are expensive. Painting the whole place would be both expensive and complicated. So how do you make changes to showcase your rainbow personality?

You can always add or switch out accessories to make your place in the world more colorful. Color is an excellent tool to help inspire mood and atmosphere in a home.

For instance, red is warm, and depending on shade and depth, this color can represent intense emotion. It can also increase appetite. But red can also be irritating, and can raise blood pressure, so don’t overdo red.

To create an aura of peace and tranquility, add some cool shades of blue to dissolve tension and stress.

Shades of green are currently the most popular colors in today’s homes, and are restful to the eye. Green represents nature, and can add calming, healing touches to a room.

Yellow is sunny and happy, and can increase focus and energy.

Orange is gregarious and social-minded.

Lavender is restful, but purple can overwhelm. However, as a bright focal point, purple can be paired with yellow for a pop of color in certain accessories.

Eggshell and other shades of white such as antique and ivory, are elegant but can come off as bland if not paired with a splash of color.

Brown represents natural wood and leather. Too much of this color leans toward the masculine, but varying shades can be combined with brighter colors for an interesting balance.

Black is often difficult, sometimes gloomy, but in controlled amounts can be sophisticated, especially paired with grays and bright whites.

So now that you have your colors in mind, go out and find those things that speak your language. Hit thrift stores to find those special items that beg to go home with you. Search yard and garage sales for that something different that fits your colorful personality. Of course, second-hand is not the only way to go, new is not a bad thing, but people’s castoffs are often more interesting.

See Also: Top 10 Tips for Buying Stylish Furniture on a Budget 

Here is a list of ideas to brighten every room in your house or apartment.

1. Throw pillows. Mix and match with your furniture and existing color scheme, or go splashy with a variety of unexpected hues and patterns.

2. Add colorful throws to the backs of sofas, chairs, and love seats.

3. Put a few simple silk flower arrangements in unusual or unique containers. Check out Pinterest for imaginative vases, jars, cans, and baskets. Real cut flowers are naturally great for adding color, too, but, of course, they are temporary.

4. Living green plants bring soothing touches to a room. And there are many flowering plants that flourish inside with proper lighting. Use colorful planters or baskets, and remember that planters don’t always have to be round.

5. Find some small wicker tables and footstools and paint them unexpected colors.

6. Look for rugs, new or old, in patterns and colors that complement your furniture arrangements, or which stand out on their own.

7. Fill a focus wall with paintings, posters, or photos of things and places that are dear to you. Or find wood carvings, metal designs, or even pieces of bright fabric to add wall color.

8. Dress up photo frames with paint or unusual decorations such as sea shells, buttons, or other small items like raffia, ribbons, or twigs. You can also frame small mirrors and add paint or decorations to the frames.

9. New curtains or drapes can change the look of a room. Use unusual fabrics for curtains instead of buying ready-made. You can even dress things up by painting curtain rods or using quirky objects such as branches, small-link chains, or rope to hang curtains.

10. Change your kitchenware. Old plates, bowls, cups and saucers, found in antique stores and thrift shops can be charming colorful dishware for your table, or they can even double as wall and shelf decorations. If you buy new dishes, go for the square plates and platters in cheery colors. Hint: Remember that red increases appetite.

11. Buy new bed linens in a multitude of colors and patterns. Don’t forget colorful towels for the bathroom.

12. Collections of teapots, ceramic figures, bottles, unusual coffee mugs, hats, and other items that catch your fancy, are great for adding colorful touches.

See Also: 6 Decor Hack to Make Your House look Pretty 

So. Color. It’s as simple as that. Surround yourself with the colors of the sea. Or a sunset. Or pumpkins or sunshine, green leaves or red apples. Or all of the above. Get out of the house tomorrow morning and find those things that say You. But first, finish your wine and that cupcake.

 

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