Resolutions are good starting points in helping you renew your energy and focus. They give you hope and restore a sense of control in your career. Naming your resolutions can be energizing. However, without a plan to follow you are more apt to be naming dreams.
Listed below are resolutions that sound good yet are difficult to sustain throughout the year because they lack a specific time line and clarity. Resolutions that resemble wishes instead of goals will lose their meaning as the year progresses.
“This year I would like to have more work-life balance.”
“I need to be a better networker.”
“I would like to go back to school and finish my degree.”
“I need to join more professional associations.”
“I need to be a better manager.”
“I would like to start a job search to find a more fulfilling career.”
“I need to save more money.”
By mistake, people often make their resolutions sound like “should” goals rather than sounding like personal “want” goals. The key to reaching your goals this year is to turn them into a personal “want” instead of a wishful “should.”
Struggling to keep goals is a common problem that most people experience and according to a study conducted by Dave Kohl, professor emeritus at Virginia Tech, 80 percent of Americans say they don’t have goals. While 16 percent reported they do have goals, they fail to write them down. Surprisingly, less than 4 percent write down their goals, and less than 1 percent review them regularly.
The study went on to say the small percentage of Americans who did write down their goals and reviewed them regularly earn nine times more over the course of their lifetimes than those who don’t set goals. It seems that writing your goals down and reviewing them consistently literally pays off monetarily as well as emotionally.
When thinking of what goals you want to accomplish this year write them down and start prioritizing the list. Think in terms of time lines and how important the goal is to you personally.
If the idea of having a list of goals seems stifling for you then it helps to think of goals as dreams with deadlines.
It also helps to keep your goals in front of you and if needed enlist the support of friends and family. Writing your goals down helps you be accountable and makes them more realistic. Don’t overanalyze your goals and get stuck with making them too difficult to achieve. Start out slowly. Small steps lead to big changes.
What helps you keep your New Year’s resolutions?
