KISS Your New Year's Resolut

这是一篇演讲稿，本人原创。原文就是用英文写的，就直接发上来了。感觉今天的阅读量应该会很惨淡。

大家还记得，我在第一篇感悟中提到，我今年的一个目标是一天看一篇TED吗？这个目标到现在为止一直都进行的很好。但问题是，看别人的演讲看多了，就会忍不住手痒自己动手写。所以就想尝试一周给自己定一个主题，写一篇演讲稿。

文章的质量勉强过得去，拿出来供大家赏玩。漏洞和瑕疵肯定还是很多的，所以请高手点评时手下留情，留给我一点写下一篇稿子的信心。

KISS Your New Year's Resolution

January is a magic month. Legend has it that it was named after the Roman God Janus who had two faces: one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. Thus, in January, we used to do two things: one is to review our past year and the other is to set our New Year's Resolutions.

But the problem is that so few of us have ever finished our resolutions and most of us are dissatisfied with our last year's performance. There is even a joke saying that in 2017 I am determined to finish the goals left over by 2016 which was planned in 2015 and promised in 2014.

Why do our New Year's Resolution fail? Setting resolutions is useless unless we get them through. To make it, we have to know the reasons we fail.

○ Too ambitious. We all have so many things to do that we get psyched up to do all these great things that will change our lives. I am going to learn playing flute; I am going to run a marathon; I am going to learn English well; I am going to ... If you do so, I can guarantee that at the end of 2017 when you naturally find yourself looking back this year and think ... man I am going to do better in 2018.

○ Too result-oriented. We always focused on the results so much and ignored the processes or details. You said you are going to lose 30 pounds this year, but you did not write down what you should do monthly, weekly or daily, which means, you only had the desire to lose weight but you are not going to lose weight.

○ Too long-term. We usually set goals for a whole year, yet what you want to achieve for a month or a week is obscure. Our brains are wired to be rewarded in a short time. Once we have to wait long, it is easier for us to lose the interest and quit. 

○ Too negatively focused. I am going to get rid of smoking; I am going to get rid of watching too much TV; I am going to get rid of... It is all getting rid of something. But what do you want to do? The habits you want to get rid of must be replaced by a new one. Otherwise, you will inevitably turn to your old ones.

So... knowing the reasons why we fail, we have to avoid such mistakes. What kind of GOALS should we set? Oh, wait! Are you sure it is GOALS? Do you think you will finish your GOALS? As I told you, don't be too ambition. 

So please focus on ONE THING and KISS it.

Also, four suggestions for you to make your New Year's Resolution.

○ Focus on ONE thing. We used to be too ambitious and wanted to get all things done within a single year. But it is unrealistic. It is too exhausting and we depend on our force of will to do it. The truth is if you want to do something for a whole year, please make it a habit and do it every day. For habits, establish one at a time!

○ Be positive. Please build up something instead of getting rid of something. Rather than getting rid of smoking, you'd better run 3 miles every day. Rather than getting rid of watching TV too much, you'd better read for one hour every day. When your good habit is being established, your bad one has to give way to it.

○ KISS. Keep It Simple and Silly. Design small and easy to do steps. Don't make them too complicated. For example, you want to learn English by watching movies. Then you decide to, first, write down every word you hear; second, watch every movie time and time again until you can hear and understand every word; third, take notes of every word, phrase and sentence structure that are useful; fourth, imitate every sentence; fifth, recite every sentence as vivid as possible; sixth, retell the movie in your own words. WOW! That's pretty cool, right? But are you sure you can really do that? For me, I may only choose step two, watch the movie several times until I can understand every word.

○ Reward. Reward your short-term goal. It is even better to be rewarded every day. For instance, you can set a private bank account. Every time you finish something, put some money in it which can be used for whatever you want.

Following these four suggestions, you will definitely keep your New Year's Resolution. Do you want to know my New Year's Resolution?

In 2016, I decided to read 30 English books, save 100,000 RMB, run a marathon, get a six-pack, get 115 in TOEFL examination, and have a travel to three exotic places. However, none of them was achieved. And what's worse, none of them has been lasted for more than a week.

But in 2017, it's simple. I decided to watch one TED a day, and write down information and ideas worthwhile. It's simple and easy to do every day. Very fortunately, I have done it for 22 days already. It's simple. But I believe after watching more than 300 TED talks a year, my life will be miraculous.