Happy New Year

Dear Preppers and Survivalists,

Needless to say, most of us have or will be making New Year's resolutions, this year. Some will try to lose weight or exercise more. Others will try to become more financially secure while others will try to be better prepared, for life's emergencies.

Most of us will fail, and there is a simple reason for that.

We are really trying to change our life.

Think about it.

Let's say you want to reduce your weight by 20ish pounds (10 kilograms). That extra weight didn't magically appear. You put on that weight by having certain habits, not exercising, eating an extra snack, or not getting rid of your stress.

So,

You are going to have to change your habits.

But, it is difficult. You have had these habits for a year or more, maybe decades.

So, here's some advice.

First, change only one thing/habit for a month.

Let's stay with getting fit, for the example. Instead of starting to walk, lift weights, reduce your food intact (diet), sleep longer, drink more water, and ... , starting today!!! Pick one of these and do that habit for a month. After you and your family have done that habit for those thirty days; move on to the next one. After thirty days doing those two habits; move one to the next one, then the next one, then the next one, and so on.

By the end of the year, you will have 12 new healthy habits that hopefully will have you accomplishing your goals.

To be truthful, these are not my ideas. The late Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay, Inc, and the many independent beauty consultants use this (change one habit/one thought for thirty days) to change their businesses.

Next, break it down and write it down.

For this advice to work, you will need to break down your goal to smaller intermediate goals then write those goals on a sheet of paper.

Let's change the goal to being more financially secure.

Being financially secure is a big goal, so we need to break it down.

Financially secure
* Pay off credit cards
*** send an extra $50 to each credit card, every week

* 3 to 6 months of cash in the bank
*** put $100 a month in a savings account in a local credit union insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund

* Retirement
*** contribute 10 - 15% of income to retirement fund/savings
and
*** contribute enough to get 100% match from your employer
or
*** start an IRA and contribute 100%

Then write all this stuff down, hang it in a place you will see everyday, then do it.

Lastly, tell people or yourself

Tell your friends and family about your goals, so they can ask you how's it going. This will help you stay on track by being guilted into keeping your goals by your friends and family asking all those questions.

Needless to say, if you are implementing a goal that will need OPSEC, like increasing the amount of food and ammunition you and your family have, you can write yourself a couple of letters. The letters will be mailed, by you or your partner, every three months to remind you about that goal you want to accomplish.

There you have it folks. Three methods to help you achieve your goals this new year.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know. Make sure to read the links for more information about achieving your new year's resolutions.

Link:
United States of America - Popular New Year's Resolutions
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/New-Years-Resolutions.shtml

Oprah - A Special Note for Credit Union Customers
http://www.oprah.com/money/Credit-Union-Insurance

Dumb Little Man - 7 Common Reasons People Fail To Achieve New Year Resolutions
http://www.dumblittleman.com/2008/01/fail-to-achieve-new-year-resolutions.html

Poker News - How to Achieve Your New Year’s Resolution
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2011/12/how-to-achieve-your-new-years-resolution-11706.htm

Healthy Tipping Point - How to Set (and Actually Achieve) New Year’s Resolutions
http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2011/01/how-to-set-and-actually-achieve-new-years-resolutions.html