January 1, 2025

Resolve to Do/Be Better in 2025

Every year — depending on what we want out of life — the same group of resolutions pop up in our heads and on our screens or in our journals. The laundry list includes: lose weight, earn more money, save money, fall in love, buy a house, pay off debt. Those are great goals to have. But how do we make them real? DION offers four steps to making those “resolutions” last for more than the first two weeks of the year.

This might sound a bit “New Age,” but visualization is a powerful tool. Visualize you being thinner, having more money, walking down the aisle, buying that house. The practice can make you feel more motivated to work towards your goal or goals. It can help you stay focused, recognize opportunities to achieve them and create a clear image of your goal, which primes your brain to recognize and seize opportunities to achieve it. If mental visualization is challenging, create a vision board — a traditional hard copy or electronic version. Then refer to it daily or weekly. 

 

Resolving to do better for yourself, your family or your community takes much more than writing down a list of goals at the beginning of every year. It takes work, daily actionable steps to “be” better.”

 

VISUALIZE

This might sound a bit “New Age,” but visualization is a powerful tool. Visualize you being thinner, having more money, walking down the aisle, buying that house. It can help you stay focused, recognize opportunities to achieve them and create a clear image of your goal. Also create a vision board — a traditional hard copy or electronic version. Then refer to it daily or weekly.

SET MEASURABLE GOALS

Now create goals that translate into concrete actions. These are called SMART goals. Specific: Outline what you want to achieve. Measurable: Establish a way to track your progress. Achievable: Make the goals realistic and something you can pull off; start small. Relevant: Make sure the goals align with your overall plan. Time-bound: Create a deadline/timeframe in which to reach the goals. 

 

SEEK DAILY INSPIRATION

Inspiration can get us to move up the corporate ladder or move to Paris. It can offer a major boost to your drive to accomplish your goals. It helps you keep going when times are rough and fuels you to keep going when the goal seems far away. But inspiration needs to be fed. Find it in role models that you admire in your community, online or that you read about in books. Find incredible stories, documentaries or refer back to your vision board for continued inspiration

BE ACCOUNTABLE

The best way to be accountable to your goals is to let someone know about them. That could be someone who is going on the journey with you. It could be a trusted partner. It could be social media. Or it could be someone you employ to help get your to the finish line. When you have an accountability partner or let people know of your plans, it gets more difficult to make excuses and quit. It helps you stay focuses and also gives people the chance to help you. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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Charles Springfield is a certified sommelier, wine educator and book author in New York City. His mission is to help promote wine appreciation through education in the form of classes, events and various forms of media. He has been working in wine in NYC for the last 15 years. His first book, “The Less is More Approach to Wine,” works to deliver wine education in easy to understand and manageable servings. He wants to help wine lovers create a deeper, more personal relationship with wine. In the summer of 2020, Charles released a new book called “Maneuvering Rosé Wine With Style” focused on educating consumers about the rosé wine category and rosé styles from around the world. In January 2025, Charles became publisher and editor-in-chief of DION, a digital wine/lifestyle monthly magazine, centering stories on the Black community and marginalized cousin-communities. For more info, visit @thewinestylings and @dionwinelifemagazine on Instagram or at www.charlesspringfield.com.

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