Give it up!

- by Jaime Willis

It is easier to break a bad habit today than tomorrow.

- Yiddish Proverb

We've talked a lot about setting goals and achieving your dreams. But sometimes, this means giving up. Not that kind of giving up! I mean give up your bad habits! Successful people don't have a lot of bad habits, because those unfruitful behaviors only drain their energy and reduce their ability to achieve.

Let's look at some common New Year's Resolutions and see what I mean.

You want to lose weight in 2011? You are probably going to have to give up junk food, late night snacking, heaping scoops of sugar in your coffee, and/or your drive-through "cooking."

You want to travel in 2011? You are probably going to have to give up random days off of work so you have enough vacation time to go on a trip and impulse shopping for yet another purse you don't need as that money should be saved for your travel.

You want to get healthy in 2011? Stop smoking.

You want to have time to work on a new hobby in 2011? You are probably going to have to stop saying "Yes" when anyone asks you to help out so you have some time for yourself and your own goals.

You want to accomplish more in 2011? You may have to give up some sleep & get up earlier or stop procrastinating and start working.

Bad habits sneak up on us all through-out the year. You may have started out 2010 strong, with the best of intentions, but a little slip-up here and a little compromise there and next thing you know your gym regimen is history and your bad eating habits have creeped back in your life.

Make sure your bad habits are NOT invited to come with you into 2011. Start now -- make a goal to give up your bad habit, and make a plan for how you are going to do that. Line up your support network now and make sure everyone knows what you are giving up.

You can do it! Give it up!