the details: another post about resolutions
I accomplished things in 2011. Little things. Big things. Things others find silly, and things they don't. I also missed a few goals I'd set. I never did sign up for Spanish, for example. But, I did quit my day job. I notice that the few goals that didn't get done are the ones for which I lacked the details. The ones that didn't get planned out down to what happened where with whom.
Last year in early February, I wrote this post about people letting their resolutions slip--and how really, I thought we should all have yearly goals instead of New Year's resolutions. This year, as I hear people talk again about how they know all their resolutions will slip, or how they won't make any, I feel the same way I did last year. I feel that the main reason people give up on their resolutions is that they have habituated themselves to giving up. And that the main nub of the issue is that people make resolutions rather than set goals.
But, I have something to add this year. Not giving up is about more than stubborn, white-knuckle pig headedness (which I do a lot of as well!) It is about the details. It is also about simply beginning. The difference between a resolution and an actual completable goal, in my opinion, is knowing exactly how one gets done while the other is a vague idea that you would like to do something differently.
So, on that note, why don't we all sit down this week and figure out, month by month, day by day, what we need to do in 2012 to get what we want and need going on in our lives?
Napoleon Hill said "A goal is a dream with a deadline." Larry Elder said "A goal without a plan is just a wish." And that pretty well sums up what I'm trying to say. So, let's save the wishing for stars, and your next birthday cake, and get to work on enthusiastically planning how we can get to where we want to be.
Come on, the planning is the fun part!
Last year in early February, I wrote this post about people letting their resolutions slip--and how really, I thought we should all have yearly goals instead of New Year's resolutions. This year, as I hear people talk again about how they know all their resolutions will slip, or how they won't make any, I feel the same way I did last year. I feel that the main reason people give up on their resolutions is that they have habituated themselves to giving up. And that the main nub of the issue is that people make resolutions rather than set goals.
But, I have something to add this year. Not giving up is about more than stubborn, white-knuckle pig headedness (which I do a lot of as well!) It is about the details. It is also about simply beginning. The difference between a resolution and an actual completable goal, in my opinion, is knowing exactly how one gets done while the other is a vague idea that you would like to do something differently.
So, on that note, why don't we all sit down this week and figure out, month by month, day by day, what we need to do in 2012 to get what we want and need going on in our lives?
Napoleon Hill said "A goal is a dream with a deadline." Larry Elder said "A goal without a plan is just a wish." And that pretty well sums up what I'm trying to say. So, let's save the wishing for stars, and your next birthday cake, and get to work on enthusiastically planning how we can get to where we want to be.
Come on, the planning is the fun part!
