With just a few weeks remaining in 2010, here are 10 reasons why you should set resolutions all year round, not just at New Year.
1. You should always have something to work towards.
Ambition drives people to do more. Without goals, you’ll just stay still, never really going anywhere. Is that what you want?
2. You should set goals with a clear head.
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the New Year celebrations and make crazy resolutions you’ll never keep. You might get a bit ahead of yourself with what you have control over. For instance, setting yourself a goal of 1 million readers for your blog when you haven’t even figured out your niche, or making 1 million dollars when you know nothing about making money.
These goals might push you to do more, but they’re more likely to make you realise you stand next to no chance of achieving what you’ve set out to do.
It’s far better to come up with your resolutions at a time that isn’t fuelled with partying, drinking and whatever else you do at New Year.
3. Not everything takes a whole year to complete.
Setting resolutions once a year is a bit silly if you complete them in a matter of weeks. Good on you for doing so well – but this is exactly why you should set goals every so often, not once a year. If you complete your yearly objectives in the first month, bumming around for the other 11 months could quite easily undo what you’ve achieved. Fun though it might seem…
4. Forced resolutions are not necessarily the best ones for you.
If you feel you have to make up some resolutions just because it’s New Year, it’s not very likely that you’ll come up with anything really good. Perhaps you’re one of these people who comes up with your best ideas on the spur of the moment. Don’t bother making resolutions at New Year if you can’t think of any at the time. Wait until an idea hits you, then make a note of it.
5. As you complete your goals, new ones should take their place.
Whether you work on one thing at a time or you switch between a few different things, achieving one of your resolutions should not mean you can be lazy (well, maybe for a bit). Don’t overload yourself, but do replace completed tasks with new goals if you have time to spare. This isn’t going to work if you only set your resolutions when the New Year rolls around.
6. You’re less likely to forget about them.
Resolutions need to be fresh in your mind if you want to get them completed. If you set them once a year, you’re just going to forget about them as you get back into your normal routine. Objectives should be worked into your routine, not thought up and quickly forgotten.
7. You’re more likely to do them.
Why would you set objectives you don’t intend to do? New Year resolutions are all too easy to be pushed aside for whatever reason. If you take the “New Year” out of your resolutions, you can focus more on the task at hand and less on the fact you think you need to do those things, but they can probably wait another month or two.
8. You may end up achieving a lot more.
One really big problem with resolutions is you may keep on setting the same ones over and over again. This year will be different! Honestly! But of course, it won’t be.
Are you ever going to do those things? Is it worth bringing them up again? If not, set yourself some sensible goals instead. Then, as you complete them and bring in some new objectives, you may find the cycle repeats far more quickly than you expected it to. Putting aside the year-on-year resolutions that never happen and focusing on the things you actually need to do isn’t just practical, it also means you stand to get more done.
9. You won’t burn out in March.
For some people, there’s a desire to “beat” the last year somehow – to go bigger and better. Enter the very long list of resolutions. By March, the list has gone out the window and the person declares “I’m not doing resolutions anymore!” Guess what happens when the next year dawns?
10. Nothing really changes between December 31st and January 1st.
Have you ever noticed people getting really excited about New Year? They go out, they celebrate, they come home… and then realise nothing’s really changed. It’s just a date!
If you have some great resolutions that you’re hanging onto until New Year, why not start doing them now? It’s probably a bit late to say that, but the main point is: don’t wait for a change of date. If you’ve got things you’d like to do, just list them and do them. Don’t wait for New Year.
What do you think of setting resolutions all year round?
About Ben
New Year’s Resolutions are OK because at least you realize that’s something wrong. I’ve had some of these and they worked perfectly. 2 years ago I realized I am too much of an “artist” and I need to schedule stuff and keep an agenda. Imagine that, I started this in January 1st, 2009. I have perfected my organization skills, my agenda is “holy” to me and it works nicely.
I do believe that change should come in an instant too. Instead of waiting for a special occasions, I started improving various things regarding my person the moment I knew I should change them. For some people there needs to be an occasion, for others change is NOW.
As long as we do improve, I’m fine with any date