Setting Goals, Not Resolutions.

As the New Year approaches, the term "New Year's Resolutions" is thrown around a lot. There are certain clichés surrounding this concept. Many of them along the lines of hitting the gym in January, never to be seen again come February.

Creating resolutions with this air of false hope isn't going to be very productive. When you quit, you can fall back on the rationale that everyone else does too. What I strive to do each December is come up with a list of Priorities and Goals for the upcoming year. Something more concrete than "resolutions."

If you have things you've been aspiring to do; make them more concrete. Start by categorizing them. Some broad categories could be: Health & Fitness, Finances, Career/School, Relationships, Travel, Misc, etc. From there, come up with two to four goals for each category. You can set the goals however you like (broad or SMART) but make sure you cater them to you. If putting an exact date on a goal stresses you out, keep it more broad. Don't set yourself up for failure. See below for some examples:

Priority: Health & Fitness

Goal: Meditate at least 4 times a week.

Priority: Career

Goal: Find a mentor and meet with them once a month

Priority: Travel

Goal: Book a trip to Australia & New Zealand

Priority: Miscellaneous

Goal: Read 30 books

Priority: Finances

Goal: Pay off $15,000 of debt

Once you put together your list - write it down, type it out. Get it documented and put it somewhere you'll see it often. The more you look at it, the more top of mind your goals will be and the more actions you'll inherently take towards achieving them. As you accomplish your goals, you can check them off; highlight them, drink a glass of wine - whatever will bring you the most satisfaction. Note: the goals don't have to be all or nothing. If you set out to pay off $15,000 in debt but only got to $10,000, you got most of the way there - and that's still worth celebrating! At the end of the year you'll be able to reflect back on what worked and what didn't and set yourself up for even more success the following year. You'll also get that rush of satisfaction when looking at a summary of everything you've accomplished.

Don't create New Years Resolutions in this fickle life; create actionable goals and priorities.