As we embark on a new year, we herald goals among friends and family of what we hope to accomplish. We approach each year with the same enthusiasm and zeal as the previous year. Our goal is always to be better! How many resolutions have you completed this year? One may be able to say one, all, or no goals. I submit: New Year's resolutions are made to be broken.
I challenge you to unplug for a moment and devote your undivided attention to a differing view of resolutions. Surrender your predispositions, apprehend your mind, and control your breathing. I urge you to consider what I am about to say as we enter a new year.
Let's get real.
Goal-setting is in my DNA. (I know it's not scientifically possible to make this claim, but I have set goals as early as I can remember.) My mother, one of the most influential people in my life, was organized and systematic with any task. I attribute my desire for organization and meticulous planning to her.
My yearly calendar is color-coded and organized to include short- and long-term goals for each week. The reward of crossing an item off my list contributes to a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment. I'm determined to get it all done! Let's get real: it's not possible. So, I circle incomplete items and place them on my calendar for another day and time. I eventually complete the tasks with persistence and work, but life isn't one size fits all.
Despite my acute daily planning, I have never approached resolutions with the same vigor. Somehow, they've been more broad and seemed more distant. Like most Americans analyzed in Discover Happy Habits, I often broke resolutions within three months of the new year.
What did you accomplish?
I had the best intentions, but as we are hours away from 2023, I freely proclaim that there are items I didn't accomplish. My resolve to focus on what I didn't accomplish caused me to miss the celebratory moments of what I did accomplish. There were moments where I didn't pause long enough to delight in what I did accomplish during the year.
Let's go back to the introduction. I invite you to pause, apprehend your mind, and control your breathing to consider: What did you accomplish this year? (Set a timer for one minute to think.) Your accomplishments may include a connection to yourself or others. I venture to say that no thoughts of amassed accomplishments were resolutions set at the end of 2021. Nevertheless, you have much to be grateful for on your journey.
Marathons aren't for sprinters.
Life is a journey, not a sprint. Unfortunately, I don't like marathons. We live in a world that provides us with immediate access to the world around us. The increased accessibility to resources supplies us with more knowledge and connectivity to one another, but there is a decreased awareness of the disillusionment attached to what we see. Filters, Photoshop, and social media present finished images of perfection and accomplishments. Many images are the sprint options of life.
We all want it now! (Your 'it' may be different than mine, but unless it is in Boston, no one wants to run a marathon.) If we are being modest, we say that we understand the purpose of patience, hard work, and timing, but candidly, we want the sprint option. An innate nature for immediacy makes resolutions testing for a generation of sprinters. New Year's resolutions are for marathons. You don't have to run a marathon, but resist the urge to sprint.
Meet Me Here Again
I want you to store one thought: the resolve is to improve each time you make a decision. Making better decisions will unveil a better you! There is hope in knowing each day presents multiple opportunities to make decisions the same or different than the last. There will be times when you'll be able to cross items off your list, and there will be times when you will have to circle them for later.
As we sprint through life, I encourage you to celebrate small successes and embrace growth opportunities. By this time next year, I hope you can share that you are better at the end of 2023 than you were at the beginning.
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