Why New Year’s resolutions do not work but goals do?

Hey all,

As a psychologist and a former 10+ yrs experienced Project Manager in Consulting and a woman who really sucks at resolutions 😛 I want to address the ultimate 01.01.2015 problem:

1. New year resolutions do not have deadlines or project plans.

If you do not have a plan or deadline, you will always have tomorrow, next week or month to do it.

Regardless of when you start, you should know when to finish. Also, you should have a roadmap to follow. Roadmaps and deadlines can be modified. There are no rules. But, they should be set.

2. New year resolutions are not clear. 

Do more of this, do less of this are not clear. Define more and less. Use percentages, numbers, counts.

Spend more time with family is not a clear goal. It is a wish. Set the goal with clarity. Spend 2 hours of quality time with family? Not there yet. Define quality time. What do you consider as high or low quality? Maybe you should ask your family and gather more data on clarifying what to do in that 2 precious hours.

3. New year resolutions are too hard to reach because they include changing habits or personality.

Becoming more patient organized cannot be a goal as it is strongly linked to your personality. Do not waste time changing it. It never works.

In order to set a clear goal, discover why you want to be more patient or organized. Where will you use it? Will it contribute your success in your business, your relationships? Then, why don’t you set success in your business or relationships as a goal rather than changing yourself, change your relation quality.

Love,

Alex