The New Years Resolution Rulebook

I think it’s fair to say that New Years resolutions have become a bonafide joke. Most of us have been there…

We set a number of new years resolutions, feel great the first few weeks, but slowly start losing the momentum we had on January 2nd. The slacking starts and faster than you can say “gym membership”, our resolutions become yesterday’s news. By June, we probably can’t remember what half our resolutions were and by the next January, we’ve renewed our faith in goal setting because this time, we’re really going to do it.

So, after years of this, one day I sat back and contemplated the “why” of it. Why do I reach some goals and not others? What’s the difference and how can I use this information to my benefit?

In the end, I came up with a list of goal setting “rules”. I dubbed them the Resolution Rulebook and over the past few years, they’ve proven to be invaluable in helping me set and reach goals. Enjoy…

The New Years Resolution Rulebook

Don’t make resolutions just because it’s New Years.

The fact that it’s New Years is perhaps the worst reason to set goals (and in my opinion, a big reason many New Years resolutions are canned). As campy as it may sound, goals need to come from you and your desire to change. If you’re setting a goal merely because ‘that’s what you should do in the New Year’, give up now, it’s a lost cause.

Cut the fat.

If you want to quit smoking, diet, get in shape, organize your garage or whatever else, make sure it’s actually a goal and not just a nice thought. The difference? The level of your desire. It’s fun to visualize a better you, but c’mon, if you’re not really serious about reaching it, why set yourself up for failure? Desire is at the heart of any goal worth reaching. If true desire isn’t there, ditch the resolution and save your energy for those that you’re actually serious about.

Don’t give in to the demands of your baggage.

We all have baggage. The most common is that which revolves around our own self worth. “Showy” goals like buying that million dollar home or that 100k Mercedes can be symptoms. Sure, these are fine resolutions, but take an honest look at your goals and figure out why you care about reaching them. In other words, evaluate the “why” of your goals. If the actual purpose of your goal is to simply impress those around you, fixing the ‘real’ issue (your lack of self-worth) might be a more worthy goal, rather than just feeding the ‘habit’.

Don’t be a slacker.

Slacking on your goals is a long, slippery slope. One day skipped at the gym easily leads to another. One dirty dish in the sink leads to a sink full of them. Pretty soon you’re out of shape with a filthy kitchen. Be militant about the small things and the big ones will come.

Don’t forget the path of least resistance.

At the risk of sounding anti-progress, one way of reaching your goals is to lower your expectations. The ultimate goal of your resolutions is to be happier, right? Living longer and healthier, being more organized and making more money are all attempts at attaining greater happiness. But one goal you might think of setting for yourself is finding happiness in the things you already have. The “anti-goal”, if you will.

Don’t be afraid to quit.

Quitting, contrary to popular belief, is not always for losers. Some goals, though they sound fantastic on the outset, can be a crapshoot in reality. This really goes back to your original evaluation of your goals and the question of whether reaching this particular goal REALLY matters to you. However, make sure you’re not quitting just because the goal gets difficult to reach. Difficult goals are all the more worthwhile. Which leads me to…

Don’t forget that wanting to quit is part of the pleasure of reaching your goals.

Reaching any goal means hard work and times that you’ll want to quit. Though there are hard times and points at which you want to give up, you’ll find that these will also be the sweetest and most profitable times of the journey.

Don’t forget the basics.

Be realistic with your goals, write them down, create a gameplan and deadlines that you’ll be accountable to, take one step at a time (focus on putting one foot in front of the other), create small rewards for increments achieved and a large reward for the final goal attainment.

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