Identifying Your “Why” to Stay Focused on Goals and Not Just New Year’s Resolutions
“Happy New Year! Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions?” We hear this all the time, and I know I have worked on that New Year’s Resolutions list many times myself. We have such good intentions with that list, and I am serious about those goals I set. However, unless you created step-by-step goals that you plan on sticking to on a regular basis, some of those resolutions will not come to fruition. Many of us fall off those resolutions fairly quickly as we settle back into normal every day life. That isn’t to say that creating a New Year’s Resolutions list is a waste of time. I believe if we create a list that focuses more on our “why,” and the deeper reasons for those identified goals, we may have a greater chance of seeing those resolutions turn into lifestyle changes and achieved goals.
What does it mean to focus on your “why?” This is where you think a little bit deeper. Write down one goal you have for 2018. Now write down in what areas achieving this goal will have a positive impact. How will achieving this goal make life even better? What will achieving this goal do? For example, a common goal is to become healthier. Whether that includes lowering blood pressure, losing weight, or changing one’s daily diet, many of us have a personal goal that comes with “getting healthier.” However, what will getting healthier do? Write down all the areas in which you hope to see a positive change. You might write down areas that include family, friends, employment, school, and leisure time. Getting healthier might make a positive impact in each and every one of those areas.
I then challenge you to make those areas where you hope to see change your actual New Year’s Resolutions. “I want to get healthier so that...I hope to see positive changes in the areas of….so that I can….” Finding your “why” will be the true New Year’s Resolutions.
