Why you should NOT set New Year’s Resolutions.
SlightEdge (Philadelphia, PA) as well as most people right now are starting to think about new year’s resolutions. There are only two weeks left in 2020 and it gets everyone thinking. However, our company is not making new year’s resolutions, we are setting 2021 goals. There is a difference. When you talk to people about resolutions, it usually involves something they will start doing or stop doing based on something they want to change about themselves such as losing weight, quitting smoking, going to the gym, eating healthier, etc. Statistically speaking, over 75% of people give up on their resolution by March. So why would anyone be excited to make a new year’s resolution when the statistics are not in their favor? And that is why at SlightEdge, we focus on setting goals. What is the difference?
Goals are realistic and attainable. They force you to formulate concrete facts supporting what you’re doing from what you have accomplished so far and overall what your end results are. Resolutions are based on ambition which is great but sometimes out of reach or unrealistic.
Goals have action plans. In order to set goals, there needs to be daily, weekly or monthly actions for the individual to complete. There are check-in points to ensure you are doing the things you committed to and goals are also set up to be reevaluated. Let’s use the new year’s resolution of losing weight as an example. The statement someone will give you when you ask them their resolution is “I want to lose weight.” They do not usually follow that up with how they are going to do that. A goal is more specific. “I want to lose 25 pounds this year. I am going to go to the gym three times a week, eat more vegetables and give up soda.” You can expand even more on that with meal plans, workout plans, etc.
Goals provide a direction that gives someone confidence in their ability to reach their desired result. Refer back to the previous point. It is very easy in this world to get distracted or to find a million and one excuses why you can not do something. But having something set in stone to follow every day will really help the individual stay on track and believe they can hit their goal.
Before you go making your new year’s resolutions for 2021, think about this. Think about sitting down and writing out your goals and exactly how you are going to accomplish them. You can have something tangible in your hands to refer to every day. You can check things off your action item list and who doesn’t like checking things off a to-do list? Think about how you are going to feel once you have reached this goal. To learn more about how SlightEdge and our team are setting goals for the new year, visit our Youtube page and the CEO Corner.
