It is New Year’s Eve, and there is about 2 and a half hours left in 2019 (to be honest, I started this blog on the 30th in the wee hours of the morning before pumping, but that’s mom life). There is about to be a new year and decade. I’m already seeing New Year’s resolutions on social media. There are a lot of “common” resolutions such as:
- I’m going to lose weight.
- I’m going to eat better.
- I’m going to stop cursing.
- I’m going to be on my phone/social media less.
90% of the time it seems like these resolutions inevitably fail (really I don’t know because stats and research tend to bore me). If I made New Year’s resolutions, then I’m sure that I’d be in the failure group. Why? For one, because a lot of New Year’s resolutions seem to be made with a band wagon mentality. Therefore, if my resolution doesn’t actually match my purpose and passion in life, then I’m not going to follow through with committing to the resolution. For two, if I just make a resolution without planning, then I’m going to forget it before January 2.
Thus, here is my Resolution Revelation! In order for a resolution to be successful it should actually be a goal. Additionally, it will help if it is a SMART goal. In this case, SMART doesn’t mean intelligent; SMART means Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound. I feel like Achievable and Relevant are key components as it is easy to become discouraged when things seem impossible or outdated. For more specifics on SMART goals Google the term. There is a lot of information out there! I had to Google the term just to remember what all the letters stood for at one in the morning when I started writing the rough draft for this blog.
To test my theory, here is a typical resolution versus a SMART goal:
Resolution – I want to lose weight.
SMART Goal – I want to lose 20 pounds averaging 1 pound per week by Memorial Day as measured by Saturday weight checks.
Do you see the difference? The first is very vague, but the second provides a plan of action. You could even add mini-goals within the SMART Goal such as losing 5 pounds by Valentine’s Day.
I also feel like the SMART Goal helps provide direction. At this point in my life, I feel that having a sense of direction – a sense of purpose – is necessary. That said, one of my SMART Goals is the following: I will blog a minimum of three times per month during 2020 as blogging helps me sort out my thoughts and provides me with a creative outlet.
For me personally, this blog is out of my comfort zone. However, they say that we often teach what we need to learn ourselves. I feel that for 2020 to be a success I needed to critically think about goal setting. This blog came from that thinking. Subscribe to my blog to see if I make my SMART goal associated with blogging!
XOXO,
The Great Kaysby
The Great Kaysby 