Why You Should Aim to Achieve Goals Rather Than Make Resolutions

Why resolutions aren’t the most important thing?

Resolutions can be intimidating. A solution is a firm decision not to do something to try and solve something in your life.

A goal, on the other hand, is more manageable and attainable. Instead of setting yourself a firm resolution, goals are milestones on a journey that you can take to improve your life.

Here are a few more reasons why resolutions aren’t as effective as goal-setting:

• When you don’t stick to your key, you can feel demotivated and angry, whereas, with goals, you can identify your progress and feel proud of what you’ve achieved.
• Goals are about the journey, not just the destination. You’re not expected to make a massive change in your life and stick to it; it’s more about working towards a daily goal, which comes with ups and downs.
• Resolutions set you up to fail by only lasting for a year. If you don’t achieve a goal, you can work at it until you get there. Don’t set yourself up to fail when you don’t have to!
• There shouldn’t be a time limit on your self-improvement. Life can be complicated, and sometimes we have down days; don’t let this demotivate you and make you feel like you can’t reach your goals.

Our top tips for effective goal-setting

When it comes to setting goals, there are a few things that you should keep in mind to make the most out of your plans and improve the likelihood of you meeting your goals:

Be specific

Be as specific as possible when planning your goals. Think of your end goal and then break it down into the manageable steps you need to take to achieve results. This helps you to stay on track and stay focused – you’ll also be far more likely to accomplish your goals this way.

Make your goals visible

Don’t just think of your goals in your head and leave it at that. You are more likely to stay motivated to hit your dreams when you can see them written down.

Whether you write your goals on a notes app on your phone or a sticky note on your desk, make sure they’re somewhere constantly visible, a daily reminder of what you want to achieve.

The more time you spend with your goals, the easier you’ll find it to make progress.

Turn your resolution into a goal

Anything too broad and unspecific is a resolution, not a goal. If you can only think of solutions, try to break them down into something more manageable.

For example, perhaps you resolve to write a book. Think about what goes into a book. How much research do you want to do into your topic? Have you thought about how many words a week/month you want to write, etc.?

Break down your resolutions into smaller milestones. You’ll feel much better when you have small steps to work towards that you can tick off along your journey, rather than just working towards the end destination.

You don’t need to put lots of pressure on yourself

You don’t need to feel like you need to set yourself many goals throughout the year. If you try to do too much, you’ll get overwhelmed and are more likely to fail.

Try to stick to three goals a year that you can seriously work towards. And, if you do fall behind on one of your goals, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just because you slip up one day doesn’t mean you should stop showing up for the next. Just pick yourself back up and try again tomorrow.