‘Tis the season for Resolutions

If you spend the slightest amount of time in front of the Televsion, you will notice that it is time to come up with the obligatory list of New Year's Resolutions. It is time to:

Welll... hrmpf! I don’t do Resolutions. To me they are a kissing cousin to a Diet. Kissing a cousin is poor form, and I hate diets. Diets are a short term change from your traditional food plan, that will make adjustment in order for you to hit a goal. I am all for goals. I am big supporter of you hitting your goals. But, that should be a lifestyle. Not a temporary plan. We deserve to consistently succeed. We do not deserve to succeed, go back to our traditional food plan, and then NEED to Diet again. To me, that has FAIL written all over it. I think, instead, your food plan should meet your goals. And your goals should be aligned with the lifestyle you want. And, I bet you want to succeed.

Resolutions, to me at least, are the same as a Diet. Generally they are a flouncy idea built upon some brief thought about the previous year and its disappointments or failures, and then BAM, the list of resolutions is born. Gah! That can’t be good.

I even went to Wikipedia, they agreed with my stance. “Recent research shows that while 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of success with their goals, only 12% actually achieved their goals. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set, such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends. Despite each goal having its own specific rewards and challenges, there are deep commonalities in the mindsets which start change."

I found a link to an interesting post that applies well to people who are interested in setting good goals rather than temporary New Year’s Resolutions. I liked the point made about not just pondering What you want to accomplish, but also Why you do. And, that we should consider What and Why we have accomplished so far. Hmmm… that IS some smarty pants stuff!

• What did you do in 201o? Why?

• What do you want to do in 2011? Why?

When thinking about those goals, continue to use the SMART acronym that many of us have seen before but add in the Why to the mix.

I hope you enjoy the process of establishing some goals, planning to succeed, and them reaching them! I would like to encourage you to go one step further. Consider how empowering it will be to your 2012 goals when you meet the 2011 goals.

Cheers!