Goal Setting | New Year Resolutions | 2021

The new year always brims with genuine and authentic hope for the remainder of the year. And that’s a great thing, because hope is abundant and can even be smelled in the air. The challenge is usually sustaining that hope and vitality throughout the year. Many make new year resolutions or declarations or promises as a result. The question becomes, how does one keep to their new year resolutions. Nothing wrong with coming up with a resolution, only that one must come up with a plan and the habit/environment to keep the fire churning.

I found that the first few days of the new year, I took pen to paper, and reviewed 2020; what was notable, what went well, what went wrong, no judgment, just stating facts and putting pen to paper. In the same exercise, I stated goal-post objectives for 2021, and a framework of how to accomplish them. As the year goes on, I’ll fill in the framework, putting some more meat on the bones, so to speak; providing more specific steps. No approach is scientific or better. I believe what’s key is that one engage in the exercise, and improve upon it as time goes on. Tracking is crucial. Tracking enables one to see the trajectory of one’s progress, and enables one to adjust as necessary. The book Atomic Habits can be helpful in this process. It discusses Implementation Intention concept, creating less/more Friction in getting closer to your goal-post, etc.

How do you go about setting goals or reviewing them in the new year? Do you believe in new year resolutions, do you have a tradition? Share with us, share with others; spread the hope, let it be infectious.

Quote of the Week:

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” - Lao Tzun

Book of the Month:

“Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body.” - Joseph Addison

Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life, Ozan Varol. (A classic. Thinking out of the box).

#lifestyle #habits #change