January starts a new year and we think of it as a way to make some better lifestyles habits as well. So we make a list of resolutions and promise ourselves we will accomplish them.
However, unless we turn resolutions and good intentions into goals, they remain simply resolutions and good intentions.
Goals are more than just New Year’s resolutions that express our desire to make better lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise that often start with a bang of energy but soon fizzle out. They need to have a plan of action and a way for you to remain motivated to complete them. Well defined and designed goals can establish new habits that continue even when we don’t feel like it.
Many goals are nothing more than completing To Do lists. But even then, we are following some of the steps we use when we make more formalized goals. We know what we want to accomplish, we know what kind of time frame it will take to complete the project, what is involved in doing it, what obstacles might interfere or keep us from completing our goal and what we need to do to stay on course.
For example, a To Do item might be to clean up the garage. I know it will take some time, I have to figure out how to keep from being distracted, obstacles might be where will I put some things, and I have to keep reminding myself how nice it will be when everything is put away and organized so the job doesn’t become overwhelming.
How do we change a desire – a wish – a resolve into a workable and achievable goal?
In my upcoming blogs I will share with you how to make goals work for you, how to manage them within in busy life and persevere over time.
Marlene Anderson