I hate resolutions. Never has there been any other form of self-promise and goal setting that was doomed to fail at the outset. We make them and instantly break them. Why? Because we aim too high, dream beyond our own abilities, bite off more than we can chew (or chew more than we should – diets and all)…
I saw a few experts on the Today Show last week talking about why we’re so miserable at resolutions. It’s because we don’t know how to narrow things down. We’re so busy with the big picture – such as “I’m going to lose 20 pounds this year!” – that we never really get to the details that make it happen. It’s why we fail and why I’ve stopped making resolutions altogether.
Those experts say that resolving to do something big is just pointless. Instead, resolve to spend one minute a day exercising. That’s right – one minute. It’s a little change, but it’s one that sets you on a different course and gets your mind trained to think differently – even slightly – about the way you do things. One woman who vowed to exercise for a minute a day lost those 20 pounds. It’s because a minute is do-able. A minute costs you nothing. A minute, while small, caused her to start thinking “Hey, I can do this.”
That’s how I approached my business last year at this time. I went over my big-picture plan – to earn more – and added monthly goals, and weekly benchmarks. I kept myself in line by making myself accountable much more often. It worked. I earned about 15K more than I planned to earn, which that number in itself was higher than I usually earned. All this during the Year of the Recession.
So how about you? Are you seeing a big picture only? If so, take some time today or tomorrow (or the next day or even next week – it’s never too late) to determine how you’re going to meet that goal and what it’ll take from you monthly, weekly, daily to keep you on track. It’s more than how much you’ll need to earn monthly. It’s about how to find your clients, how to score more work, how to pace yourself so that you can be cashing checks in the lean months….stick around. We’ll talk about all this in the weeks to come. Meantime, tell me what worked for you last year. How did you reach a goal, a series of goals, and how can we emulate that?
So true. I didn’t even mention my goal of staying at my current weight by exercising regularly. I fear if I put down that I will exercise every day, I’ll feel forced into it and then just not want to do it at all. By NOT making it a New Year’s resolution, I can think of it as something fun I WANT to do. Hmm, maybe I should have been a psychologist.
And congrats on the big income boost. I haven’t yet seen any cut in business as a result of the recession either. In fact, I was busier this December than any other one I can remember, and a lot of clients I haven’t heard from in ages popped back in and indicated they’d need assistance in 2009.
Wish I was enjoying the boom in business you ladies are! I’ve been super-slow. Hours are spent mailing, quoting, meeting prospects -but no approved projects yet.
Just wanted to chime in with a great psychological tip I read that has helped me. (IF’s comment reminded me of it.) Whenever you’re trying to do something positive for yourself-like exercise or eat right that you don’t feel like doing, replace “have to” with “get to” when you mention it to yourself or others. (I “get to” go to the gym…. I “get to” market my business to reach greater success. I “get to” eat right so I feel strong/healthy.)
If I can focus on how fortunate I am to “get to” do things many people wish they could do but can’t because of sickness, disability, or any other obstacle, I actually end up feeling a bit more appreciative and dread the activity or task less. As writers, we more than most understand the power the right words,(or the wrong ones,)can have.
I like the theory behind this. My new goal is to write 500 words a day, since 5 pages just overwhelmed me, and made me feel like a failure each time I didn’t do it.
I’m not big on resolutions either, but I resolve to read every single post on Words on the Page in 2009. To that end I’ve just subscribed for email delivery — to my REAL email, not my spam-catching registration address.
Lori I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your advice and support. I know how, conceptually, to market myself, but I need help at the “first do A, then do B” level, which you’ve been generous in offering, both offline and on your blog.
May God bless you and yours and grant you a safe and prosperous New Year. Oh… and I’m going to exercise more.
Kathy, amen. Recession has yet to reach this desk, as well.
WCSfun, great tips! I get to eat pomegranates today instead of that nasty sugary cake! :))
Carrie, I think that’s smart. If the goal’s too hard to reach, you’re going to drop it. I love the idea of whittling it down to something very do-able. Hey, I put in at least 500 words on these posts every day. Putting it toward a novel is just as easy!
Kirk, I LOVE your resolution! LOL I’m not just happy to help you, I’m eager to. I know if the situation were reversed, you’d be right there helping me. I know you’ve got the talent and the marketing savvy. Sometimes those first steps are a bit too shaky if you’re going it alone! Much happiness to you and Nina this year. :))
I agree that you need to break down big picture goals into actions and then actually do them.
What I’m sick and tired of are these touchy-feelies who coo, “ooh, don’t make a big resolution. Do something easy so you can feel good about it.”
The whole point of setting goals and making resolutions is to stretch yourself in new directions and grow.
Resolutions are not for wimps, and I’m tired of everything getting dumbed down so we can “feel good” instead of actually initiating positive change.
Not everyone is cut out to be good at everything. Sometimes we fail. And some of those failures can lead us to something much better.