New Years Resolutions vs. Life Goals

This year instead of making a new year’s resolution, think about making goals for 2017.

Depending on the source, anywhere from 80% to over 90% of resolutions fail. There are many reasons and theories for this.

Below, Ramit Sethi, New York Times bestselling author and founder of iwillteachyoutoberich.com explains reasons why he believes some of us our failing at our New Year’s Resolutions.

“They’re unspecific. We say “I want to get healthy this year” but when faced with the birthday parties in March, the overtime in June, and the family vacation in August, that goal falls by the wayside.

They’re unrealistic. “I want to go the gym 5x/week.” Really? You averaged twice a month last year. Setting unrealistic, highly aspirational goals is a quick way to guilt and failure.

They’re based on willpower, not systems. We say, “I want to walk more” instead of parking our car 10 minutes away. We say, “I want to stop messing around and go to sleep earlier” instead of testing different ways of falling asleep (like leaving our laptop in the other room, or unplugging our TV).”

https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/why-new-years-resolutions-fail/

But instead of focusing on why we fail, let’s focus on how we can make goals and lifestyle changes that we can succeed at keeping.

A great strategy for creating good, SMART goals, is using the acronym SMART from Project Smart. When creating goals be specific, have your goal be measurable, if there are others involved in your goal, or you are looking for support, have it be agreed upon by all parties, be realistic, and finally, give yourself the appropriate amount of time to succeed. See explanations and suggestions below:

Specific

• Well defined

• Clear to anyone that has a basic knowledge of the project

Measurable

• Know if the goal is obtainable and how far away completion is
• Find out when you have achieved your goal

Agreed Upon

• Agreement with all the stakeholders what the goals should be

Realistic

• Within the availability of resources, knowledge and time

Time-Based

• Enough time to achieve the goal
• Not too much time, which can affect project performance

https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals.php

Set yourself up for success in 2017 and focus on goals and lifestyle changes, rather than a fleeting resolution that will leave you disappointed. But most importantly, show yourself some grace, and if you fail, pick yourself back up, and keep trying!

We hope you can look back on 2016 and find the positive things it’s brought you, and have a wonderful 2017!