At the beginning of each year, we all hear about making New Year's Resolutions and within the first week, the only thing we have resolved is breaking our resolutions. I gave up making resolutions years ago for this very reason, but that doesn't mean I don't make goals for myself. It's not really a matter of a "rose by any other name". To me, a resolution is a little more set in stone (though not totally) and by breaking a resolution, I have failed. By setting goals, I push myself to achieve greater things, but don't feel like I failed when I miss them, because they are goals, not things I have "resolved" to do.
Each year my list contains approximately 40-50 goals - things I wish to accomplish. In a good year, I will accomplish about 20% of those goals. Last year, I only accomplished 6%, but the goals I accomplished were very substantial. This year, I expect to achieve a greater percentage of my goals for two reasons - first, I will not be in school during the spring semester, so I will have more time and second, many of my goals are home improvement related. With the likelihood of moving, it will be important to achieve these prior to selling the house.
A few of my goals for this year include:
Personal
1. Read 12 books (I have already completed my first)
2. Write 12 poems
3. Attend church more often
4. Eliminate soft drinks from my diet
5. Be healthier by exercising more and losing weight
Recreation
1. Visit at least 3 new lighthouses (new as in I haven't visited them before)
2. Visit at least 2 new national parks
3. Visit at least 1 new state
Household/Financial
1. Reduce our dining out expenses by $1,250 (We eat out way too much)
2. Reduce the mileage driven on our Honda and Subaru
3. Complete our list of home improvements (all minor) On our full list, each improvement is a separate goal (about 14 items total)
Some of our goals are pretty much a given. Last year, for instance, one of my goals was to graduate. I knew before I made the goal, that the likelihood of achieving it was pretty good. It will be interesting to see how many goals I achieve this year. Wish me luck. I will need it to achieve some of the personal goals I have set for myself.
13 years ago
1 comment:
I wish you the best of luck. I agree that setting goals for the year is better than making resolutions. I like that you have specifics. I was just reading that in order to reach goals you need to have a written, specific plan. So I will be working on a more specific plan to achieve my goals rather than just say "I want to exercise more" which is something I say EVERY year!
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