New Year Goals: Less of this & More of that

With the start of a new year, you will typically find most media outlets inundated with “resolution talk”. What goals have you set out to accomplish? How are you going to create a better you?

You want to become healthier, more spontaneous and adventurous, and let go of things that weigh you down or hold you back. So, most people start to create lists upon lists of things they HOPE to do within a year’s worth of time. You want to nix bad habits, acquire new skills, and experience life in a different way. Let’s be honest…..we all start fast out the gate. But, as we head for the turn, we begin to lose momentum. After a few months, we lack motivation, and reality sets back in.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not implying that resolutions are a waste of time. I just think there are a few problems that many of us make when creating these goals:

WE HAVE TOO MANY

I don’t know about you, but I feel successful when I manage to cross off

two-thirds of the items on my daily to-do list, which typically contain

menial household tasks, nothing grand or momentous. There are many times when my husband asks, “You really think you can finish these 3 things in 30 minutes? I always respond with the same reassuring, “Yep!”. Guess what….he’s got my number. It happens the same way every time. I put way more on my plate than I can handle. The same thing seems to happen when making resolutions. While it’s great to aim high, you need to remain realistic. You aren’t always going to meet your goals 100% of the time. AND….that’s perfectly okay. Focus on growth instead of perfection. Sometimes, goals are meant to be revised or even placed on the back burner for a bit. You may come to the realization that it was not an appropriate or worthwhile goal. Part of improving ourselves is being able to adapt, modify, change, and figure out what works and what doesn’t. Too often we feel discouraged and disappointed with ourselves when we don’t see a goal through to completion. We feel as if we are setting ourselves up for failure. It doesn’t have to be so concrete and definitive all the time. Rather than creating a list of things we can achieve in life, think about ways we can change our behaviors. It’s a process:

Happiness is a journey, not a destination

THEY ARE TOO COMPLEX AND COMPLICATING

Simplify, simplify, simplify. Resolutions don’t have to be elaborate. We tend to create a plan of action that requires so much time, energy, and money that after a couple of months, motivation is nonexistent. We often dream up these wonderful, lofty ideas that sound great in our head, but aren’t always realistic. You quickly become a “dreamer”. That is great and all, but a resolution should specific, measurable, and attainable….something you can monitor and keep track of. Personally, I think it should be something within your grasp. Resolutions should be something you don’t have to dip into your savings for and can enjoy without emptying your bank account. Bucket lists and resolutions shouldn’t coexist.

YOU NEED AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER

You vowed that you would create a healthier you….eat better, exercise more frequently, and get more sleep. That is until…..Mmmmm….the chocolate cake stares you down and laughs at the drool dripping off your chin. When the going gets tough, it’s easy to cheat. You begin to rationalize and justify why you aren’t meeting your benchmarks, “I just got home from a long day of work. Sooo, I’ll go to the gym tomorrow instead.” Or you say to yourself, “What will one piece of cake hurt? I’ll be fine.” Temptation starts to cloud your decision making and resolutions are often forgotten or put by the wayside. If you can share in your journey with someone or keep a log/journal of some type, I’m willing to bet you will feel much more successful.

MODIFICATIONS INSTEAD OF ADDITIONS

Don’t we all wish we had more time in the day to do the things we are passionate about and love? Sure, we yearn to perfect a hobby, learn something, travel to new places, or sharpen our skills. So, many of our resolutions continue to ADD more to our already overflowing schedules. Instead of happily working on our resolutions, we instead, anxiously and begrudgingly go through the motions. We put so much pressure on ourselves to accomplish all we’ve set out to do and come up short in the end. Rather than ADDING tasks, we need to seek ways to MODIFY our lifestyle, behaviors, habits, attitude, viewpoints and perspectives. Think about areas in your life that you do well and keep doing them. Stop trying to avoid your weaknesses, and instead, build upon your strengths.

Whether you believe in resolutions or not, I think we all can find ways to better ourselves with each passing year. Rather than picking 5-10 goals to achieve in 2014, my primary plan of action is to adopt the attitude, “LESS of this….and MORE of that.”

Here are just a few things I HOPE to accomplish….

Okay, so we can forego the pop to tea since I only drink water, and junk food to salads, but the rest of these are pretty legitimate…areas I think are within reach and worthy of my attempt!