The Problem With New Year Resolutions

So it's the new year and as per usual, everyone sets themselves up for failure by spitting out some faint goal that sounds a lot like "I want to lose weight this year" or "this is the year I get in shape" and so on. So they buy a gym membership and go for the first month. After that though, they are never seen again. Suddenly work or school gets in the way and they just can't manage it. But what about their goal? "Well, there's still time" they'll say. Then it's 2013 (or maybe the world just ends, we'll find out I guess).

Anyways, the point is that many people make very abstract goals for the new year. I myself have fallen prey to this method and what happens? We never accomplish them. The most famous lost goal of all time is the "weight loss" goal. How many times have to announced to friends and family that by year's end you'll look amazing (or even more amazing is you're as handsome as I think you are) only to look exactly the same by the time Christmas rolls around?

The solution to this (so I've found) is to be extremely specific with your goals. Last year I said I wanted to watch more movies, read more books, finish more games, and so on. But instead of simply stating those goals, I assigned a number to them. I wanted to not just watch new movies, but fifty new movies. I wanted to read twenty new books. Complete ten games, and so on. I didn't really wind up meeting these particular numbers (thought I did get really close), but I think that's another thing to consider. Don't set yourself up for failure by biting off more than you can chew.

Be specific in your goals, but also make them reachable. This year instead of trying to watch fifty movies again, I've set the number down to thirty (down from the 35 I watched in 2011). It's goal I proved I could reach/surpass last year, so I should have no problem reaching it again this year.

Being nonspecific also allows you to cheat. Because there was never any actual goal to reach, you can simply stop whenever you want and call it a done day. But what do you gain by doing that? Suddenly Christmas or New Years rolls around and you're lamenting about how you don't look any different or didn't really get done what you wanted to this year. Why do that to yourself?

So just do yourself a favor and being as specific as possible with your goals, but make sure your goals are obtainable. You'll feel better about yourself by the year's end.