The Dirty R Word

Are you scratching your head, wading through your mental file cabinet trying to determine what swear word starts with the letter "R"?  I'll save you the headache.

Resolution

There I said it.  It's that time of year that we rack our brains trying to determine what we want to accomplish in the coming year.  We make a list.  We tell our friends.  We swear that this is THE year we'll get it done.

Excitement builds as we lay out our grand master plans.  January kicks off with a bang and we're sprinting towards the finish line.  But if we don't get to the end fast enough, we start to lose some steam.  Soon our sprint has slowed to a crawl, and then we are distracted by another new, shiny object that promises to make us smarter, skinnier, and more efficient in less time.  We forget that we resolved to do anything at all.

What happened?

I swore off New Year's resolutions years ago.  I did that because I inevitably failed to what I set out to do, and in the end it just made me feel guilty and like a big fat failure.  Plus I realized that the things I was resolving to do were things that I said I wanted to do all year long- not just on New Year's Day.  It was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.  I wasn't tied to having to wait until this time of year to start working on my goals.

Shiny and New

This time of year is an excuse to start over, but if your stumbling blocks haven't changed, and you haven't adjusted to get around them, you are almost guaranteed to walk away with same outcome.

I understand the appeal of resolutions.  There is a certain energy around  the "new year" that is waiting to be tapped into.  You feel like you have more patience and flexibilty than you did just a few weeks ago because it's like the universe is granting you a huge do-over.  All's you have to do is show up and take it.

But when reality sets in, it'll knock you on your butt no matter how good your intentions may be.  So if I was in the business of setting New Year's resolutions today, I'd make sure I had a back-up plan that included these things:

• Keep It Short: It doesn't matter what time of year it is, when you set a goal, wisdom will tell you to build in short, measurable milestones to keep you motivated.  You can't start off the year saying you are going to lose 30lbs by February.  It isn't realistic. Goals that can be accomplished in a few weeks or less are great starting points because you'll get some successes under your belt and that will propel you to bigger and better things.  Confidence in knowing you can do it is a huge motivator.
• Reward Yourself Often: I don't care what anyone says.  If you accomplish even 1/10th of your goal in the month of January, pat yourself on the back.  We are a society of short attention spans and instant gratification.  Rewarding the right behaviors is the best thing you can do for yourself to keep you moving forward.
• Find A Buddy: Preferably one who has the same goal as you do.  You can hold each other accountable.  You can share war stories and strategies.  If you have a set-back, you have someone at your side ready to help pick you up, dust you off, and get you moving again.

I've got a lot of things lined up for 2011.  It's looking to be a big year for me.  But I'm not worried about making a whole list of resolutions to get there.  I don't want to jinx it.

What about you?  How successful are you in accomplishing your resolutions?

(photo credit Pink Sherbet Photography)

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Comments

[Ryah Albatros]

I'm lucky in that my birthday is January 1st, but I've never been big on resolutions as such. I can't remember where I read it but someone recommended chainging the wording if you were making resolutions: instead of 'I will' or 'I will try' say 'I can!' instead.

I tried it this year, and it does work. Something to do with the implicit failure in the phrase 'I'll try'I suppose. So, I'll be listing a few things I can get done in 2011 :-)

[Christy Smith]

Hi Ryah! You are spot on that how we talk about our intentions can have a huge impact on our ability to follow through. I think that is terrific that you accomplished what you set out to do this year. Happy early Birthday!!