Once again, and prayerfully so, another year is upon us. As such, the unspoken pressure of formulating a “New Year’s Resolution” is bearing down like an angry trucker! But, if you think about it, how successful are they usually? One way to evaluate the success or failure of your previous year’s resolution is, has it ever been a resolution before.
If you’re resolving to lose the SAME 15 pounds that were bugging you at the end of 2014, 2013, ’12…then, move on for Pete’s sake! If you still feel you need to lose those pounds, or organize your life, or make a move in your career then you might not be able to just move on, but you have to wonder about your approach. So, for this year, try a bit of goal-setting instead of making some arbitrary resolutions that will be long forgotten by the end of the first month in the New Year.
Goal-setting is something that was taught to us as children. Or, should have been. It’s the process of setting your eye on a goal, but then (and it’s the part looked over all too often) setting a series of small goals/checkpoints that can slowly but measurably get you to the end result…in steps. Think about it, if your child told you they wanted to be the next Whitney Houston (the early years), would you let them move to California expecting a record exec to greet them at the airport? I hope not, because if so, you’ve failed as a parent. You would evaluate their skill, do what you can to improve/strengthen it, instill in them a work ethic, be supportive with a healthy mixture of reality and hope, and prepare them for achievement of that eventual goal. Because guess what…everyone doesn’t get on American Idol! The Codi Miller-McIntyres of the world are cultivated for success.
There’s no reason this methodology can’t work as adults. It should, even more so. The same logic that got you potty trained as a child, can get you the career of your dreams! Recognize the issue (hey, I gotta go potty), determine the change that’s needed (I want this mess off of me), devise a plan (hey, what’s that in the corner of the bathroom, let’s check it out), choose a route (that thing in the bathroom is a much better option than this pamper thing)…BOOM, goal achieved (POTTY TRAINED)! Now, why couldn’t that be a better option than making a plan to starve yourself into oblivion or decluttering your whole, entire life by summer? Nonsense!
New Year’s resolutions are a novel ideal, if we take them for what they are, entertainment. If there’s something you want—big or small—all things are possible. You have to do more than pay lip service. If you want to make change in your life, start with your thinking!
