In God I trust

As a Christian your faith should be displayed in many different ways. Christians are meant to be the light for other people that guides them to the truth. Your faith should be displayed in your daily interactions with people, your charitable giving, and in your trust in God, among other things. Granted, we are all fallible and our faith is put to the test by the devil every day.

I had an epiphany about myself the other day. I claim to be a Christian but you couldn't tell by my reaction to difficult situations. I get very upset and angry when something is out of my control, when something does not make sense to me and I don't see the logic or reason behind decisions made by others that directly impact my life. There was an incident that made me realize this. I was put into a situation that I felt was unfair and irrational. I got very upset, walked away, and was ready to burn a bridge. I was ready to completely quit a relationship, not just with one person, but with an entire organization that I had spent over a year building trust with and working hard for (I am not talking about my job by the way). I spent the entire afternoon being upset, talking to people, trying to figure out how to get what I want and was already drafting the e-mail in my mind that I would send explaining why that organization would not get my support anymore. Later that evening, I received a phone call that the director had been consulted and would make an exception to policy and the situation was resolved in my favor. 

Joel Osteen talks a lot about God's favor. I listen to him almost every Sunday, but somehow the message about having God's favor, about God bringing about good from every situation, has not been internalized by my heart. I have been doing a lot of soul searching these past few months and been very observant of my own thoughts and my own behavior. As I was contemplating my epiphany, I talked to people that know me very well and have seen me react in a similar fashion many times before. The consensus was that I need control. If I feel like I have no control over a situation and am being controlled by someone else, I completely shut down. There are many examples that I can point to that support this. So I started wondering when I felt like that for the first time. 

My dad died when I was 8 years old. He went to the hospital after a stroke and was there for about 2 weeks. One day my mom received the phone call that he would probably not make it and if he did he would have major brain damage and would be bed-ridden for the rest of his life. She grabbed my hand and my little brother's hand and we stood in a circle to pray for my dad. My mother was so upset, she couldn't even speak. This is the moment I grew up. I was 8 years old. I pulled myself together and prayed out loud for all of us. I prayed to God that my dad would be either completely healed or that God would take him to heaven. As young as I was, I remembered my dad saying many times that he would rather be dead than being a vegetable that others have to take care of which is why my prayer was so specific about healing him completely. Later that day, my dad passed away. Needless to say, in my 8 year old mind, it was my fault because of the prayer I prayed. Not only was I now dealing with not having a father, I was also dealing with the burden of guilt about his death. I never received any counseling after his death. I had to be the other adult in the family. My mom now had to work day and night to support us and keep the apartment we lived in so we wouldn't lose our home on top of everything else as well. I raised myself and my little brother while she was at work. My mom is a wonderful mom and did everything she could for us. She gave up her life to support us and to give us the best life possible. I know how much it hurt her and to this day hurts her that I had to grow up so quickly. 

In retrospect, our life would have been even harder if my dad had survived and had been bed-ridden. Things were tough enough. The memories I do have of my father are that of a strong, vital man with high dreams and goals that he managed to achieve throughout his life. He fled the socialist hell the Czech Republic was at the time, started working construction in Germany, living in a small apartment with 7 other guys, taught himself how to speak and write German, put himself through school and became an engineer at VDO. My dad taught me about the American Dream, even though we were not in America. I am thankful that I remember him that way rather than as a helpless, bed-ridden man. I am thankful for everything my dad has taught me, even after his death through the stories my cousins and aunts told me about him. I understand this on an intellectual level, but in my heart and soul, the 8 year old girl still wishes she could have had more time with her dad. 

In my adult life this has translated into not wanting to give up control. It has translated into not wanting to give my burdens to God because I am scared of the outcome. It has translated into me being completely unequipped to deal with any kind of loss, including break ups. When someone chooses to leave me, I can intellectually understand the reasons behind it but in my heart and soul I feel that it is my fault. And because I feel like it is my fault, I feel like I need to fix it. There has got to be something I can do to make it go away and have more time, right? 

So when someone tells me no, when something does not go the way I so desperately wanted it to go, be it personal or professional, the 8 year old girl in me rises up and fights. The 8 year old girl in me screams 'not this time' and does not comprehend that sometimes there just isn't anything you can do or should do. 

Evil is everywhere in the world. Death and loss are a part of this world. But God is in control. God promises that He will pay us back for what we have lost.  I need to learn to understand that, to feel that. I need to learn to be patient and trust that God will take care of me and that I sometimes sabotage what God has planned and prepared  for me by trying to force it and trying to control it. I need to give up control and fully trust the Lord. This will be my greatest and most impactful resolution for 2013. 

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 11:28-29

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Isaiah 40:29-31

He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.Even youths will become weak and tired,and young men will fall in exhaustion.But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary.They will walk and not faint. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b1iwLIMmRQ

Surprised by the Voice of God

I have read 'Surprised by the Voice of God' 13 years ago (http://www.amazon.com/Surprised-Voice-God-Jack-Deere/dp/0310225582 not an affiliate link, just for reference). I still own the book and I am about to read again after what happened to me last night.

I had a rather rough week at work and a particularly rough day yesterday, feeling like I let people down that counted on me. On top of that my Friday night plans were cancelled last minute. I had been looking forward to being done with work and just relax and then that didn't happen either. Not to complain, people are dealing with much worse than that. Just setting the stage here.

I laid down in bed and just tried to get control over my mind so it would stop racing. I get anxious very easily but I am very effective at snapping out of it quickly. Yesterday it wasn't that easy for some reason and I even started feeling physically sick which only increased my anxiety. I don't like bothering people with my silly problems so I didn't call any of my friends or family to talk about it.

So I closed my eyes and started focusing on God. Some call this 'quiet time'. I wasn't even praying. I was just quiet, trying to listen to God (which I need to do MUCH more often, as a routine and with purpose). My mind was still trying to race, but I kept at it, trying to just focus on God.

All of a sudden, a random name popped into my head. I tried to actually drown it out at first, thinking it was part of my mind racing. But it kept coming back. Very clearly. Over and over again. A name I had never heard before. I don't even know anyone by that first name. Or by that last name for that matter.

After about 5 minutes of this name very clearly repeating over and over in my head, I picked up my phone and googled the name, expecting to get a bunch of random results to sift through with no real conclusion as to what the name meant. I had no idea what to expect.

First three plus results were about the same Christian therapist/counselor in Seattle. In fact, when I started typing her name in the search box, Google auto-populated the box with 'Seattle' after her name. I couldn't believe it. I read her bio and methodology and was blown away by what a good fit she would be for me.

I hadn't been thinking about finding a therapist. I have never searched for a therapist in Seattle (especially West Seattle). I don't like counselors and generally think they are full of crap and that I don't need them. Because I am tough. I always have been and people have always told me that I am extremely strong. And people have always expected me to be tough and strong. I don't like asking for help. It's a sign of weakness in my eyes. Even in relationships, I never allow myself to just fall and trust that I will be taken care of because I've always had to be the strong one and carry those around me.

Apparently, God disagrees with me there :). Which is very scary to me and most of me is still resisting the idea of seeing a counselor. But it also brings tears to my eyes, because it shows me that all the burdens that my prideful soul thinks I have to carry by myself, God doesn't want me to carry by myself.

Sure, this may be a little bit of an exaggerated interpretation of a small thing like getting a name. But God was certainly nudging me. And I feel very blessed by and through that. I hope I can experience that kind of clarity in hearing God's word over my life more often. Which I know has to start with me actually taking the time to listen like I did yesterday. And needless to say, I will be setting up an appointment with this lady.

From Fat to Fab

Warning: You cannot un-see what you're about to see.

This was me 7-10 years ago...

And this is me today....

I am almost 30 and look better than when I was 20. How did I do it? Small lifestyle changes. That's all it took. I don't work out ever (I probably should though). I don't only eat salads. I learned to do things in moderation.  I walked a little more here, ate a little less there. And that is how I lost the weight.
People who are overweight know deep down what they need to change. I know because I've been there. It's not as hard as it seems. You just have to get uncomfortable enough in your own skin to want it. No one else can make you want to do it. But if you want it, you can lose the weight. It's that simple.

Greek Denial

The image below is screen shot of a poll aired on a German news station. The poll was conducted in different countries within Europe. The question was 'Who works the hardest in Europe?'

The left column shows the country that was polled (from top to bottom: Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Greece), the right column shows how that country voted. All countries voted Germany to be the hardest working in Europe. Well, all countries except for one...

Seriously Germany, stop pumping money into that lazy shit hole. They are your Occupiers, except you can actually kick them out and cut them off while Americans can't kick their Occupiers out.

War on Men #waronmen #waronwomen

Both Liberals and Conservatives are talking about the war on women and blaming the other side. With the latest leftist attack  which manifested itself in depicting S.E. Cupp with 'something' in her mouth, I think it is pretty obvious who is waging that war. But I digress.  My question is, why isn't anybody talking about the war on men?

Marketing departments definitely seem to be biased towards men. Look at how companies are portraying men in their commercials, sending the message to young girls and boys that all men are idiots.

Here are some examples of commercials that portray men as incapable losers:

Excedrin http://www.poptent.net/media/26030 ;

Lowe's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E_tI3QDaSM

Vonage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXml1Iu47xU

Geico: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe-Y-zSd5gs

AT&T: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFWGkeVVO0I

DiGiorno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oULN5a_quGQ

My new 'favorite' commercial is the Eggos commercial where dad built a crooked a table and the food just slides off. I couldn't find that one on YouTube. And this is just a selection of commercials. There are many more out there that send the same type of message. 

This phenomena is yet another sign of how feminism has pushed us way beyond the reasonable desire for women to have equality to the completely reserve in some areas of life.

The kind of messaging seen in the commercials above will make girls think that men can't do anything right and that they will have to be mean bitches when they grow up to whip their men into shape.

On the flip side, young boys will think that it's ok for a woman to demean them and  raise their eyebrow at them. They will accept that they will never be able to do anything right (according to their woman).

A completely perverse message that kills both femininity AND masculinity and is a purveyor of a behavioral pattern that, in my opinion, is the reason most marriages fail. Most men don't cheat because they are sex addicts or because they are pigs. Sure some do, but the majority of men who cheat do so when they've grown so weary of their wife bitching at them for not doing things right that they need to find affirmation, be it physical or emotional, from another woman.

 A true masculine man will cherish a woman and support her in her endeavors. If you demonize men, all you do is create the very self-image in men that you don't want to see in them. If you respect men and let them know that you value their contributions, they will become knights in shining armor.

Oh and if you would like to see what a political war on men looks like, just follow @TheRealRoseanne.

LinkedIn does not work like Twitter

I received a few questions about this tweet: "I wish people would understand that LinkedIn does not work like Twitter. Completely different approach and purpose". So I figured a quick blog post is in order. If you are one of my social media geek followers, this post is a moot point for you.

Twitter and LinkedIn are inherently different.  In short: Twitter is for connecting with people you want to meet, LinkedIn is for staying connected to people that you have met.

Now in my case the Twitter statement mostly applies to professional connections and people who are passionate about animals. It is not my goal to meet with all my Twitter followers and those who I follow. But I would like to meet some who  are in the same profession as I am or in a profession that interests me or who are simply rockstars in their field (like Chris Brogan :-) ). Twitter can be used to connect with others for many different reasons, and professional networking is just one of those reasons. Everyone has their own personal purpose for using Twitter.

LinkedIn however is different in that it has a very specific purpose. It is a professional network. You connect with people that you have either met in person (for example during a networking event) or that you have worked with.  The latter could be either in person or virtually.

In my opinion, you should only connect with people on LinkedIn if you can speak to their professional abilities in a positive way if someone asked you about it. This does not mean you have to have worked with them. I am connected to a lot of great people who I have seen display their abilities and knowledge during events  and in person meetings.

Lately, I have been getting a lot of invitations on LinkedIn from people that I have never met. Or people that I have met, even at work, but I don't know anything about them outside of their name and where they sit in the office. Now if those people were looking for a job, I would not recommend them or give them a lead because I know nothing about their work ethics, their abilities, etc. They may be great employees, but am I willing to put my reputation on the line for someone who may or may not be a great candidate or employee? The answer is no.

Yesterday I received an invitation from someone who is looking for a training role. She sent me a nice e-mail asking to let her know if I know of any opportunities. Here is my response to her:

' Dear Jane,

Thank you for your nice e-mail. I would love to connect with you on LinkedIn and let you know about any training opportunities that I know of. Please let me know when you are available to meet in person over coffee so we can discuss your experience and what you are looking for.

Thanks,

Miriam'

If she truly wants to connect with me professionally and is serious about wanting to be referred, she will make the time and effort.

On the other hand, LinkedIn also isn't Facebook. You may be friends on Facebook but does that mean you know anything about that person professionally? Think about that before you connect with them on LinkedIn.

The moral of the story is that connecting with people on LinkedIn has lot more significance than connecting with them on Twitter or Facebook. It reflects on you professionally. The two questions I always ask myself before connecting with someone are: What would I say about this person if someone asked me? And, more importantly: What would that person say if someone asked them about me?

Don't put your professional reputation and your network on the line just to be nice and to not offend anybody.

Disclaimer: If you are actively looking for a job and you get an invitation on LinkedIn from a recruiter that you have never spoken to or met in person, you accept! 

Bird rescue - a new family tradition

On Saturday, I drove to Marymoor Offleash Dog Park with my 4 dogs. As usual. My friend Teri dropped off her dog with me to join the pack. As usual. I went to the parking ticket machine and walked back to my car to let the dogs out. As usual. Then I saw a green little bird sitting on the ground about two cars away from mine. Not as usual.

Without hesitation, I started approaching it holding up my sweater so I could throw it on top of the bird once I got close enough. Let me tell you, it must have been quite the funny sight for people who didn't know I was trying to catch a bird. I am glad no one called the cops on the crazy lady that is sneaking around between cars. After a few attempts, I finally caught the little girl. I didn't have anything to put her into in my car, so the next best thing I could think of was to drive to the nearest pet store. In hindsight, I could have probably tried to just find any store and ask for a box. But I didn't. Now the tough part. Keep a bird wrapped in my sweater without hurting it while driving a Mustang with one hand across town with 5 dogs who were ready to go run at the park and don't understand why we are leaving again. Needless to say the bird suddenly appeared on my lap which made me actually scream out loud. I pulled over and spend 10 minutes trying to catch the bird again. With 5 dogs in the car. I finally got it and made it to the pet store where I was able to put it into a box. I also bought a cage and food right away. Later that day I took it the vet to ensure it was healthy, which it was. The vet said it couldn't have been out for too long.

If you know anyone in the Redmond area who lost a female parakeet, chances are I have it and please have them reach out to me. 

I am trying to find its owner because I wouldn't want someone else to do the same for me. But if I can't I will keep her. Her name is Sunshine.

You may think this is an isolated incident, but in fact, my family somehow has a tradition of saving birds. Not intentionally. It just kind of happens.

The first bird we saved was an abandoned duckling. This happened when I was really young, about 4. We were watching it hatch on an grassy area in park and once it hatched it ran straight to my mom and followed us everywhere from that moment on. Unfortunately, she was eaten by a crow when my parents let their guard down. But while we had her she was following us like a puppy.

Then my parents saved two abandoned ducklings who were sitting under a parked car on a busy street. I was about 7. They were older though so they never really got used to us and once they were old enough we released them at a park.

This was really it for my childhood. In more recent years, my younger brother has had seven incidents when he somehow ran into a bird that needed help. He has the local wildlife shelter on speed dial. One time, a bird literally dropped right in front of his feet as he was walking. He also rescued a bat from drowning once.

On top of those seven incidents him and I also rescued two birds within the last two years. The first time I rescued a bird with him, and really the first time I ever rescued a bird since the ducks were rescued by my parents, was on my last day of visiting my family in Germany. We were in downtown Frankfurt and suddenly saw a woodpecker with a broken wing in a busy shopping passage. I looked at my brother with disbelief about the chances that this is happening to him again. He looked at me and said: 'Are you ready for this?'
We caught it and brought it to wildlife shelter.

The second time was when he visited me here in Washington. He was leaving in a few hours and we decided to go for a walk at Lake Sammamish. We found an abandoned green heron baby sitting in the middle of an open space. Again, we caught it and took a detour to a wildlife sanctuary in Maple Valley on the way to the airport.

I had chalked those incidents up to the fact that I was with my brother and given his history with birds it was just a normal day. Until I found Sunshine. I guess we are both carrying the baton now. If only our bird rescue ability could save the Seattle Seahawks.

Don't be the reason Twitter has a block button

I cannot imagine what life must be like for kids these days. If I think of the bullying that went on in my school days without Facebook and Twitter, I don't even want to imagine what it must be like now. But unfortunately, some people never grow up so the bullying continues into adulthood. I saw something like that happen to one of my followers yesterday and it got her to the point where she changed her profile picture to something that isn't her face and removed her full name from her profile.

Twitter is a great way to connect with people, but we need to always remember just that: You're not talking to an avatar. You're talking to a person.

Bullying is just one reason to unfollow and block someone. Below are my top 3 reasons to block someone and my top 10 reasons to unfollow/not follow someone.

Top 3 reasons to block someone:

1. You are bullying someone (surprise, surprise). It doesn't matter who. If you bully someone, you're not a nice person and I want nothing to do with you.
2. You  are threatening someone in any shape or form. I've seen a lot of threats thrown out there during the OWS high season. If you threaten people with things like 'we will find you', you're going to get blocked. And reported.
3. You send me and a bunch of other random people a link to a 'giveaway' (and expect me to be stupid enough to click on it)

Top 10 reasons to unfollow/not follow someone:

1. You have the word 'bitch' or a derivate of the word in your handle.
2. You use profanity ALL the time. I am no angel when it comes to that, but I know how and when to express myself without using profanity. If you can't, you need to go back to school. Or get your mouth washed with soap.
3. You tweet every single Foursquare, GetGlue, etc. check in. It's ok to tweet it when you have something to say about the place (like 'best brunch in town') but if I wanted to know where you are at all times, I would request to be friends with you on Foursquare.
4. You are negative. All you do is whine and bitch about bad service, talk trash about other people, etc. Get over yourself.
5. You tweet about your sex life. Really? If you have to tweet about it to get satisfaction, it's not that great.
6. You tweet about what you're eating or cooking. Again, it's fine if it's 'this is the best XYZ I have ever had and here is where you can find it'. But who cares that you are cooking something with someone? No one.
7. You constantly retweet others but don't produce any original content.
8. You haven't tweeted in a month.
9. You tweet about things I don't care about.
10. Your bio or tweets state that you are a social media guru/ninja/expert. Maybe I'll follow you if you have 10K+ followers to substantiate a claim like that.

What did I miss? What are you twitter pet peeves that make you hit the unfollow/block button? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

Use Project Management to Stick to Your Resolutions

Why do so many people fail at sticking to their New Year's resolutions? The failure is generally a result of a) setting unrealistic goals and/or b) not creating a plan consisting of achievable smaller sub-goals. The latter I believe is what ultimately gets people to the point to just give up, even on realistic, attainable goals.

Resolutions are nothing but goals and those in turn are projects so they should be treated as such. If you are serious about making changes in your life, you need to create a project plan for each goal. I am not talking about a full-blown, elaborate project plan but it should have some of the basic components.

                                                         Problem Statement

Use the 5 'Ws' (Who, What, When, Where, Why) to define the problem you are looking to solve. Divide it into three components: vision (what happens when I solve the problem, or desired state), issue statement (describe the actual problem, or current state), method (how will you approach getting from the current state to the desired state). This seems logical for the stereotypical goals such as 'lose weight' or 'quit smoking' but what about goals such as 'learn French' or 'buy the car I've always wanted'? It is even more critical to define the problem statement for those kind of goals because if you cannot state what the problem is, then you are probably not passionate enough about it to consequently pursue it in the first place.

The problem statement for 'learn French' could be something along the lines of: "I want to be able to go to Paris and get around the city by myself, including hotel, cabs, restaurants, museums and other attractions (vision). I have no knowledge of the French language (issue statement). I will use tools such as Rosetta Stone or Live Mocha to get a basic understanding. Then I will seek out French speaking people in my area on Twitter to get some real life experience... etc. (method)."

The problem statement for 'buying the car I've always wanted' could be something like this: "I want to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a Ferrari to reward myself for the successes in my career (vision). I don't own a Ferrari and I have not done the research on what the financial impact of buying a Ferrari would be and what I would need to do to afford it (issue statement). I have $10,000 in savings that will serve as my down payment. I will research how much the minimum down payment will be and how much a monthly payment will be based on my credit score and other factors. I will make lifestyle changes (if necessary) to save up additional money for the down payment and to be able to afford the monthly down payment.... etc. (method)"

If you cannot clearly state what you are trying to do and why, then you probably don't really want to do it in the first place and should revisit the motivation behind the goal. Often we feel like we should pursue certain goals due to external pressures from family and friends, work or society, which is why they end up on the list. If magazines are the reason you want to lose weight, not your health or comfort, then you probably should reconsider that goal.

                                                               Define the Scope

In project management, scope defines what the deliverables are in terms of time, money, and quality and what the project objective is. It documents the common understanding of the project of all parties involved. Now you may ask yourself how this applies to a new year's resolution that has no other parties involved besides yourself: You are the project manager AND the customer. You need to keep yourself in check. Define your deliverables, what the cost is, how long it will take and what the quality you are looking to achieve. Then make yourself stick to it.

'Lose weight' is not a deliverable and does not include any measurements to determine if the goal has been achieved (i.e. the project has been completed), therefore we need to define it in a little more detail.

The scope for 'lose weight' could be something like this:

I will lose at least 15 lbs (quality) between 01/01/2012 and 06/01/2012 (time). I will join a gym i the week of 01/01/2012, share my weight loss goal with a trainer and ask them to develop a training plan for me to follow. I will also consult with a dietitian during that same week to create a food plan that I can stick to and that will enable me to reach my weight loss goal in the provided time frame (deliverables). The total estimated cost is $700 which includes a  gym membership for 6 months, consulting with the dietitian and purchasing healthier foods, etc. (cost)

In this scenario, the trainer and the dietitian also become your customer, as you feel accountable to them in reaching your mutually agreed upon milestones. Adding 'customers' like that to your project will be helpful since minds are capable of quite the trickery when you are solely relying on keeping yourself in check.

                                     
                                       Work Breakdown Structure and Milestones

You've set a basic timeline in the scope statement but you need milestones that break up the goal into smaller chunks. In order to figure out what those milestones are, you can create a simple work breakdown structure, or as I like to call it, sticky notes on a wall.
Start with the end goal on the top sticky note, then build a 'pyramid' downwards that contains all of the things that need to happen to fulfill your goal. The first row of sticky notes (or whatever tool you use) below the initial goal sticky note will be your sub goals, anything below that will be specific action items. In the example for 'lose weight' above, the sub goals (or milestones) would probably be set by your trainer and dietitian. But if you chose to not consult either one of them and for other goals, you would have to create them yourself.

Once you've determine all of your sub goals (or milestones) and action items you can plug them plug them into your predefined timeline, creating a work back schedule. A work back schedule means starting with the end date in mind and working your milestones in to fit the timeline you've set for yourself.

Examples:

'Learn French' sub goal 1: Rosetta Stone -> action items: complete level 1, level 2, level 3, etc.; sub goal 2: Meet French speakers -> action items: join French society in my area, follow French speakers on Twitter, etc. sub goal 3:.....

'Buy the car I've always wanted' sub goal 1: Determine cost -> action items: research car dealers and cost of new and pre-owned Ferraris: sub goal 2: Determine financing -> action items: sign up for Mint.com to understand the trends of my spending and determine where I can cut costs, talk to XYZ banks to find out the best financing options, etc., sub goal 3:....

                                                          Risk Mitigation Plan

No this is not overkill. It's common sense. With every goal we set for ourselves, we inherently know what the risks are to achieving it but we barely ever take the time to clearly outline what these risks are and how we can mitigate them. If we can prevent issues (once a risk occurs it becomes an issue) from occurring or have a plan in place for the case that they do occur it will be much easier to deal with them and to stay on track.

What are things that you know will be hard to do or stick with in regards to your goal? 
What things have occurred that have kept you from achieving this or other goals in the past? 
What issues have others had that you know who tried to achieve the same goal as you? 
Once you outline what the risks are, create action steps  you can take to prevent them from occurring in the first place and action steps you can take in case the risks turn into issues.

Let's stick with 'lose weight' for potential risk and mitigation examples:

Risk: Project at work will reach its peak in March and I will have to work longer hours which will cut into my work out time.

Mitigation Plan:

Preemptive action steps: Ask/plan for additional resources during that time to keep impact on my schedule to a minimum; plan to keep other after work activities to a minimum during that time; plan with spouse/partner for them to take on more household chores during that time; etc.;

Reactive action steps: Use lunch hour to work out at gym; bike to work; delegate work to others whenever possible to free up time; etc.;

                                                        Communication Plan

This again may seem like overkill, but ask yourself the following questions:

Do you need support from others to achieve your goal? 
When and how do they need to be involved? 
How will you communicate the need for their involvement and the level of support you need to them?

If you don't have clear answers to these questions you should put a little more thought into it and create a basic communication plan. Look at all the other components of your plan to determine whose support you will need. Create a basic matrix listing all of the people you need to communicate to and then answer the what, how and when question.

For the 'lose weight' example, there are already a few hypothetical people outlined above: the trainer, the dietitian, the spouse/partner, and the stakeholders and the project team at work.

Now you certainly don't want to communicate the same things to all of these parties. Your stakeholders for your project at work do not need to know anything about your goal. All they need to know is that you need more resources and you need to create a work related reason when you present to them.

Your spouse/partner will need to be communicated to in much more detail. You will have to get their buy in because you will need a lot of their support in sticking to your diet and work out schedule. You may even ask them to stick to the same diet so that you don't get tempted. Not the mention the potential additional chores they might have to take on if the risk relating to your work project becomes an issue.

How would you communicate this? 
How will you gain their buy in and 100% support? 
What concerns may they bring up? 
Are there any events in their life that you haven't considered that might collide with your plan? 
All things to consider.

                                                              End Note

All of these tools can be very elaborate and time-consuming to create so don't over think it. Keep it basic and simple. You don't want to create more work for yourself. Just put a couple of hours into the planning phase so that the execution phase can go much more smoothly.


Are there any other PM tools/strategies/principles you can think of that could help with sticking to resolutions without creating a ton of extra pre-work? Let me know in the comments.