new year

January 1, 2008

The Problem With New Years Resolutions

I'm not a fan of New Years Resolutions. It's not that I think they're bad things, but I have a problem with the word "Resolution."

To me, a resolution is simply an empty promise to yourself. Anyone can resolve to do anything but without specifics there's nothing to back it up. And that's the problem with New Years Resolutions. Most people don't go that extra step to set achievable goals to back up their resolves.

It's easy to say that a person will spend more time with their partner. But how? When? You can resolve to lose weight. But how much? How? I can resolve to write posts here more this year, but what's more?

And when you stop at that first step, it's hard to follow through with your resolve.

So if you make a resolution, make sure you take the next step - define what you want to do and set goals.

If you want to spend more time with your partner, when will you do that? A date night? Weekends away? Want to lose weight? How many pounds by what day? How are you doing to lose them? Why? Write more on my site? Publish a weekly recap of my life? Put up a photo from my gallery?

So don't make a New Years Resolution. Make a New Years Goal. Maybe then it can be something you can keep.

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