No More New Year's Resolutions

Too many of us make the same resolutions every new year, and we look at ourselves twelve months later on December 31st and see the exact same weight, finance, job, relationship, mental, physical, and emotional issues that we started with on January 1st. Why do we take the time to sign up for a gym membership, start dieting, start saving money, quit smoking, or do any number of things that we end up quitting anyway? I've got an idea-skip the New Year's resolutions.

Same Old, Same Old

Instead of making a few New Year's resolutions that you'll end up dropping before Groundhog Day, I want you do to something else. This may be uncomfortable at first, but it is definitely worth the trouble. I guarantee it.

Think about yourself and your life. What do you want to change? Whether it's wanting to lose weight, start exercising, change jobs, be a better spouse, be a better writer, save money, or any number of other things, you have to decide beforehand what your goals are.

Now, many people know what goals are. However, most people do not make written goals, because they take time to create, and nobody wants to miss hitting a goal and feel bad. Think about it. Would someone be more or less likely to work toward a goal if it was written in a place where it was easily viewable at all times of the day? And while some may think that New Year's resolutions are like goals, there is a world of difference between a split-second decision to make a temporary change (most resolutions) and a dedication to change the very foundation of how we live our lives (goal).

Why am I Such a Cheerleader?

At the beginning of 2008, I wrote down my goals and resolutions for several areas of my life. That included my physical, mental, spiritual, and financial goals. My financial goals, for instance, were to finish paying off all debt except for the house and to save 3-6 months' of expenses for an emergency fund. My mental goals included reading at least 6 nonfiction books and 10 fiction books during the year. My fiction quota ended up much higher than that, but the nonfiction ones were tough to get through! My physical goals included running at least 5 races and increasing my mileage to a personal record, and I completed both parts! My spiritual goals included giving more money to charity and volunteering my time more freely.

Each month on the 15th, I would sit down with my written goals and write everything that happened for the month for each category. After January, I would go back and reread each monthly goal update to see how well I was performing. I remember ending 2007 feeling like I had wasted the year, and I wanted to feel more fulfilled in 2008. Now I have 12 months' worth of accomplishments, battles won/lost, and new goals written down for me to see how the year REALLY went.

How to Get Started

Sit down somewhere quiet with a pen and a pad of paper.

Write down the relevant categories. Mine are fine for starting out (financial goal, spiritual goal, mental goal, physical goal, etc.).

Put at least one entry under each category. For example: Physical-lose weight, Financial-save $5,000, etc.

Set some kind of alarm or reminder to go off every thirty days. When that alarm goes off, get out the notepad and start making notes for the month as to how good/bad you did with your goals and resolutions. Repeat every thirty days!

I really hope this helps everyone else as much as it did me. Good luck, and if anyone knows some good resolutions or wants to put their own goals down for all to see, please throw in a comment below. Get started today!