Resolutions
Here we are again at the end of another year. Has anyone asked yet, “what is your New Year’s resolution?” Before you respond, you are thinking quickly, “what was my resolution for last year?” Or, a better question is, “what was my resolution each year for the past five years?”
If you are honest, you would reply, “I have no idea what a resolution is…I am not even sure I know how to resolve anything!” Let’s do something different for this new year; no join the brigade of “new year’s resolutioners.” Why? Because more than likely, the resolution will become another big incomplete task; or something you never planned on attempting. Most of us tend to think too big about something we have never done before. Even if we gave it a good try in the past, we did not get very far. So why set up the same scenario again, and by March, you can’t even remember what the resolution was. Stop smoking, lose weight, go to the gym more often are a few common ones. While these are all excellent resolutions, why not make them goals instead. At least you can set small objectives along the way to the big GOAL.
Goals
Resolutions are often unfulfilled, because of the false hope that something we have come to rely on to fill a need (that we have yet to seek help for) will be removed permanently in a short time. Resolutions, like goals, mean significant life changes. It is pretty easy to say, “I’m going to lose 25 pounds this year,” but making it happen requires some drastic and challenging changes in comfortable, familiar lifestyles. Think about dieting; most of the time, you start well. Then ordinary stressors return or some other difficult life circumstance, and you drift farther away from your goal. As time passes, it is not uncommon to become more discouraged and just give up on what you are trying to achieve.
The answer to the problem is simple — don’t try and bite off too much at once. While that final goal of losing those 30 pounds maybe what you want to achieve, it will take longer than you are willing or able to commit too. We want to see the results as soon as possible!
How to
So how do you make your desires more realistic? Set smaller goals. For weight loss, for example, forget about the final goal; and set mini-goals that you know you can achieve. Maybe it’s just to lose 4 pounds in the next month. Eat a little healthier, do not obsess about jumping on the scale every ten minutes, increase your exercise, and at the end of the month, you’ll probably have hit that mini-goal. When it happens, reward yourself. No! not with a celebratory ice cream sundae, but with something that makes you feel good about what you have achieved, and that will help motivate you to set another mini-goal towards your final target.
Conclusion
Regardless of the resolution, setting mini-goals is the best way to get you moving. Reasonable, feasible, and achievable goals (+mini goals) give you the positive feedback you need to push you on to your BIG goal. And, if you do happen to fall short along the way, just accept that we are all human, and we all stumble now and then. Re-examine those goals and what changes you need to make. Start small, give it another try, and pretty soon, you will be closer to that final goal.
