A new calendar with pristine pages is purchased (yes, I still use a paper calendar), which is exciting…Yay me. I will select the perfect pens – one color for birthdays, one color for personal appointments, one color for work appointments…perfect. I’ll start loading it with my chicken-scratch notes, and I’ll be ready for the New Year. But, there will be one thing missing…
While most people are busy trying to decide what New Year resolutions they’ll take on, I’m saying, “why bother?” I am boycotting New Year resolutions this year. I’m done. It’s not that I think they’re a bad idea. But, I’m more of a to-do list kind of person, a just-do-it kind of person….just get it done. Many years I’ve made resolutions – “I’m going to lose 25 pounds”; “I’m going to give up caffeine”; “I’m going to walk 30-minutes a day” – that sound great, and then promptly die a painful, wheezing death.
It seems every year, in pretty short order, reality sets in. I’m eating on the fly, and not so healthy, because my work demands change. I go back to drinking caffeine to fend off the draw-down headaches. And, the reality of walking 30-minutes a day in the middle of a Wisconsin winter with snowy or icy sidewalks…well, you get the picture. My chicken-scratch quickly becomes a metaphor for how my resolutions play out….unrecognizable.
It’s not that I’m not a goal-oriented person, but I’ve been goaled to death in my long and illustrious career. I’ve gone the route of setting 3-5 goals (too many, by the way). “SMART” goals abound, ad nauseam (more on that another time). “Goal of the moment” syndrome driven by the latest book published has driven me crazy. And, there’s the good old “we’re changing our strategy so the goals you’ve been working on will need be pended until we figure out our strategy.”
My New Strategy
Too often, the buzz of day to day takes over and our perfect goals fall by the wayside. Let’s be honest; we’ve all seen this happen. So, tell me again why I need to set resolutions? Thanks, but no thanks. I’m not up for that kind of failure again. This year, instead of setting resolutions for the year, I’m trying a new daily approach. Each day I will say, “Today I will…..”
• Today I will….say a cheerful good morning to the gal who always looks like she just rolled out of bed. If she doesn’t like it, too bad. I reached my goal. (insert cheeky grin)
• Today I will….clean out my junky desk drawer, and put all my sketchy pens in the office pen pool. I reached my goal!
• Today I will….eat a good breakfast that won’t consist of a candy bar and a Coke. I reached my goal (hopefully!)
• Today I will….ask Jane to take a walk with me and if she can’t go, to heck with her, the loser. I’ll go anyway. I reached my goal!
• Today I will…..send a handwritten note to Liz, who I haven’t talked to in a while, and ask her if her arm’s broken that she can’t call or write. I reached my goal!
• Today I will….dig that nasty weed out of the garden once and for all. Blooming weeds are insulting. I reached my goal.
• Today I will….try that wine with the funny name. Can’t wait to reach that goal!
No more lofty, long-term milestones. No more beating myself up because I “fell off the wagon.” No more getting to the end of the year with regrets for what I didn’t accomplish. This year, I will take each day on its own as an opportunity to do something good for others and for myself, to learn something, to experience something new and celebrate each and every accomplishment for its own worth. And, to tell you the truth….I think I’m going to do fabulously at this resolution.
Are you making resolutions? What’s your secret for success? Comment below; I’d love to hear what you think.
