Goals Shmoals: Tips for a Successful New Years Resolve
This past year I transitioned websites and left some posts behind. Considering it’s that time of the year again, I decided on a re-publish of this gem from January 8th 2018.
I am not one for New Year’s resolutions because the energy of nature and the world around us says NO- short days, cold weather, dead foliage, hibernating bears. I mean, if the bears are hibernating, should we not do the same? Ok, yes, not a great point.
I am, however, a fan of goals, and the reality is, I cannot deny the energy that sparks with a new year. It feels like a good time to set goals because there is this sort of tangible, definitive timeline. Not to mention, we associate so much with years, so a “bad” year can just be thrown out or forgotten as the clock strikes 12:01AM.
So honoring the world we live in, here are three tips for your new year’s resolutions… which can also be used for goals in February or June or November, and any other day or month of the year.
1. For completely new goals or habits, first create momentum then shoot big.
By starting with small objectives that are easily attained, you create a sense of accomplishment and confidence that you carry on to your bigger, more bad ass goals. We thrive off of success and the feeling that comes with it, so often our longer term or grandiose goals fail because we rarely “feel” the progress or success along the way, making achieving them seem impossible.
2. Set it and forget it.
Well, maybe don’t forget your goals, instead just “let go.” Set your goals, establish a game plan, and then release expectations. Expectations breed pressure which creates meaning and leads to negative self talk. Remember we thrive off of success and negative self talk does not generate a feeling of success. Do not define your self worth on accomplishing or not accomplishing goals, shift your energy to the process. You can reflect and objectively recognize what worked and what you could have done differently to move forward. Which brings me to…
3. Get ready to zig and to zag.
Life happens and unexpected surprises show up, so you might need to change or readjust your goals and that’s totally cool… more than cool, it’s necessary. Take the objective reflection of your goals, see what needs to change, whether it’s the goal or your approach and get back after it. Any resolutions you set in January, if they fade off, don’t wait until 2019, try approaching them again in the spring (when plants are blooming, days are longer, bears are awake- see what I did there.) Zigging and zagging might even mean dropping a goal completely, and that’s ok because your self worth is not attached to the result.