As we head towards the end of the year, one thing on people’s minds is what their New Year's resolution will be. While many people dismiss the New Year’s resolution since they drop it so quickly, people underestimate other ways to look at goals. The idea of a New Year’s Resolution isn’t bad, but people approach it wrong. I have done alternatives to the New Year’s Resolution which have had much better success. Even if I don’t complete them, I still have a lot more awareness of my goals.
The first goal-setting technique I’ve done is to break the goal up. Anyone can have the resolution of losing weight or not spending money, but that is too broad. You need something realistically achievable. You need to break up your goals into parts, so something like saving $100 by Spring Break is more achievable. By breaking the goal up into smaller chunks, you create stepping stones, similar to SMART goals. The issue of not breaking up a goal like weight loss or a more daily activity is that people quit when they do not see immediate results. For example, if I had a goal to run five days a week I don’t want to dive into running five days a week. You need to build a schedule, start slow and build that endurance. By having stepping stones to that big goal it allows you to check in to your goal. Plus, when you dive into a schedule that takes up most of your week, the change can be too big and can allow for burnout to happen faster than by building up. Stepping stones are used a lot for goals in the workplace or for school, so breaking down plans for the New Year’s resolution works well.
The second type of New Year’s resolution that I have done is having many mini goals. I compiled all that I want to accomplish in one year into a bingo board with a lot of goals. Some of my goals were really simple, like cooking lobster. Some of them required more preparation than others, like getting an A in a specific class or not getting lower than a 85% in any of my classes. The idea of having it as a bingo board makes it easier to cross off items, and if I do manage to complete enough goals to get a bingo, I would get a certain prize. While I haven’t gotten close to a bingo yet, I enjoy the times when I am doing something and realize I am close to crossing something off the bingo board. It also is less stressful because if I get a bingo I reward myself with a little gift, and if I don’t get a bingo then I saved money by not rewarding myself with a gift.
While there are many ways to handle the idea of a New Year’s resolution, people get off put by the idea of a singular goal they have the wrong mindset. You have to ignore the glamour that companies use to try and take your money, and look at the reality instead. Goals are difficult to set, and by setting vague goals, it is difficult to truly accomplish something with so many factors in our lives. Any goal is possible and a New Year’s resolution doesn’t have to be super long term or some amazing accomplishment. It can be small, and I personally choose to do semester goals because they are way more achievable. The idea that every resolution has to be some big accomplishment that took all year and that you have to dive head first into is a lie. SMART goals, stepping stones and even many small goals are just goals. They’re what you want to accomplish and planning is a big step. Even if you fail a goal, reflect. Knowing what does and does not work helps for next time.