With the end of one year and the start of a new year, many of us reflect back on the passing year and look forward to the dawning of the new. With those reflections we often see things we want to change and new goals we wish to achieve. So how do we go about making a change? Set a goal? Make a resolution? Is there a difference?
I think yes.
One way to think about goals and resolutions is this: you achieve a goal and you keep a resolution.
This was a huge change in my mindset when a few years ago I finally realized the difference between the two.
Goals are specific and are usually time-bound. You know when you’ve reached it. Focus on attainable goals that are specific and relevant. Examples of goals might be to lose a certain amount of weight, save a certain amount of money or run a marathon.
Resolutions are things you resolve to do, day in and day out. These are the daily habits that we wish to implement in our lives for permanent change. Since these are daily habits, you won’t wake up one day and say, “whew! I’ve done it!” You will keep on, keeping on day by day. These would be things like drink less coffee, exercise 3 times a week or eat less processed foods.
The key to the changes you wish to make is that some things on your list will require both goals and resolutions.
If you set a goal of losing weight then you can set certain resolutions for yourself that may include eating less processed foods, adding exercise into your daily routine or drinking more water. Your specific goal will be reached through the resolutions you make.
We need to succeed in the small, daily habits of our lives if we want to achieve the big goals. The secret of our successes is in our daily routine. This is how our resolutions make a difference.
Sometimes we will fail and other times we will succeed but thankfully each day is a fresh opportunity to start again. You don’t have to throw in the towel if you have a rough day or two. Just pick up and start again. I have found it to be really helpful to create accountability for myself and review resolutions on a regular basis to see how I’m doing. Get your hubby on board to eat healthier with you or find a few friends to jog with a few times a week. For 2012 I set a goal for cutting down my coffee intake. {It was really, REALLY out of hand!} We ditched the regular coffee maker so I wouldn’t be tempted to brew a whole pot to drink on my own and purchased a Keurig. I resolved to brew no more than 2 cups a day on our spiffy new machine. And it worked!! I was much more intentional about my coffee consumption and my intake went down! My goal was met because I changed my daily habit.
We all want to grow in many areas of our lives. We see changes we wish to make with our marriages, parenting, spiritual growth, fitness and finances. So let’s prayerfully set specific and attainable goals for change and then outline daily habits for the resolutions to make them happen!
Happy 2013!!!
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love these ideas! :-) Found you through the Better Mom! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! So glad you stopped by:)
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