By Hollie Fallon
We’ve all done it. The New Year’s resolution. We’ve probably also all bailed on them almost as quickly as we made them. Why does this happen? Why do we do the same thing every year expecting different results? How do we do set real, attainable goals this year for ourselves?
I think that we tend to set resolutions as a way of motivating ourselves. However, when we aren’t quite ready to change whatever the habit is, the likelihood of failure is great.
Something I started a few years back was to do a little brainstorming about my resolutions and goals before I set them. This entails simply writing things down that I want to accomplish, no matter how grandiose or minuscule. I prioritize the goals and determine what steps I am ready to take to accomplish them. Following this process puts me in a head space that helps me stay realistic about what goals are attainable.
Next, I put time frames on certain goals. I am ALL about setting goals for myself. I set yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and even daily goals! A way for me to keep on track with these goals is to “check in” on them. I think that another reason for not sticking with resolutions is that we proclaim them on January 1st, then go on with our lives. We fall back into our standard of living without making the changes we undertook because it is comfortable.
Another great resolution/goal tracker is to write a “pre-cap”. I have done this now for two years and I’ve found it very helpful. This one gives us accountability because you choose a friend to write the pre-cap letter to and they write one back to you. The idea is to write a letter at the beginning of the year as if it was the end of the year. You will tell your friend all about the year you had and all of the things that you did, except it’s still the beginning of the year – this is a pretty achievable exercise in-goal setting and hopefully a manifestation of what is possible. You can email back and forth with your friend throughout the year to find out if they are making progress on their goals. Try it! Pick a friend and write a letter!
I record my goals in a few places and in different ways: In a notebook that I re-read regularly, on my phone and I even have the next day’s goals written in a book next to my bed so I can read them first thing in the morning! Having these goals in multiple places helps me to keep on track.
So, go ahead, have a little talk with yourself about where you want to be in your life this time next year. Decide what you can do every day to get closer to that place. Celebrate the little successes as you move towards your goals. Focus on the present; what can you do TODAY to get you where you want to be tomorrow.
Enjoy the trip and don’t let the slips stop you from where you want to go!
May you all have a happy, healthy and strong 2018!