Happy New Year!
This time of year is great to reflect and plan. What do we want to do with our fresh, shiny new year? Do we want to take that trip we’ve always wanted to, tackle a new challenge, get a new job or career, or continue to work towards some of the goals we have tried before but haven’t quite accomplished yet? It can seem overwhelming to look at the coming year as a whole. So this year I propose doing something different: Making monthly goals.
How easy is it to let go of those resolutions once February comes around? It seems so easy since we haven’t even made it halfway yet to the completion of our goal. The end results or reward is so far away and it is easier to do nothing since the reward won’t be there whether we do it or not.
Instead of making a goal that may take 6-12 months, how about a goal that can be achieved in a month? Wouldn’t it be much more satisfying to be able to end January knowing that we’ve checked one box already? I’m not sure about you but I love being able to cross things off my list. It gives me a sense of accomplishment and the confidence to tackle the next task/goal.
Also, by having smaller goals we can potentially get more done! (Gasp!) It is hard to try to change more than one to two things at a time; therefore a resolution can only be one to two things. But, what if what we want to accomplish this year can’t just be boiled down to those parameters? What if we want to get to the gym more, save for a trip AND de-clutter our house? Do we have to settle? I don’t think we should.
Having this approach can help us to accomplish more and stop procrastinating. You no longer have 12 months to do the task, you have 30 days! So you better get a move on! Setting monthly goals can also help us to slowly build healthier habits over time. So now that large goal of de-cluttering your house can be done room by room over the course of several months, checking boxes along the way. Being successful can have a snowball effect, as we become more and more successful we also become more confident in our ability to tackle the next challenge.
Whatever your goals are for 2019, let’s try something new in order to achieve those elusive resolutions!
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
— Albert Einstein
Brittany Reese is a registered dietitian, personal trainer, group exercise instructor and food lover. Do you have questions or comments? Fill out the form below and we’ll get back to you very soon.
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