Making Great Resolutions for 2018
2018 is just around the corner. Nowadays, many people dislike new year’s resolutions. This is unfortunate, since resolutions are powerful tools. Without resolutions, you don’t have a goal to work toward. Resolutions challenge and stretch you. I hope that you are already planning your resolutions for 2018!
Sometimes it’s hard to choose a great resolution, so I’ve compiled four steps to help you make great resolutions for 2018. Also, check out my ‘Ideas for New Year’s Resolutions.’ This article provides tons of ideas. I wrote it last year, and many people said it was helpful.
Step 1: Review Your Vision
It is essential that you write out your vision. A vision is like a roadmap for life: it describes where you are going. You’ll never arrive at the destination if you can’t identify it. If you haven’t already, take some time to think strategically. Write out your vision. Identify the destination.
If you have already written out your vision, take some time to review it. Pull it out, read it, and contemplate it. Be inspired as you envision the possibilities. Your vision should excite you. If you’re not passionate about it, you may need to do some editing.
Step 2: Identify Weaknesses
Your vision describes what you want, not what you already have. As you read your vision, you should identify what you still lack: skills you don’t have, character qualities you need, and ideals that you have not yet attained. While this may seem like a depressing exercise, it is important to identify these weaknesses so that you choose excellent new year’s resolutions.
Step 3: Determine Change
Once you know what your weaknesses are, you can start planning positive change. Is there some skill that you don’t have? What can you do to change that? For example, if your vision involves knowing multiple languages, but you only know English – maybe you can start studying a foreign language. If you want to develop leadership qualities, perhaps you can read books on leadership. If you want deeper family relationships, you could decide to have a weekly family evening.
Step 4: Write SMART resolutions
Determining change is not enough. You need to write your resolution in the form of a SMART goal. (You can click here to learn more about SMART goals). In short, a SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
(To be fair, the SMART acronym generally refers to goals, not resolutions. I focus on forming goals for the new year, which is a little different from forming resolutions. The basic idea, however, is the same).
Using the earlier examples, if you want to learn a language, your SMART resolution might be “I will take a Spanish language class at the nearby community college in the 2018 spring semester.” If you want to develop leadership, you might say, “I will select and read three books on leadership by July 1, 2018.” If you want deeper relationships, you might determine that “I will set aside every Thursday evening this year for my family unless an impossible obstacle comes up like sickness, travel, etc.”
Conclusion
Don’t join the undisciplined trend of society that refuses to plan. The new year is an exciting time. We naturally get excited about change, and January 1 is a wonderful time to implement new ideas. I hope that you are inspired to create great resolutions. Feel free to mention your resolutions in the comments section below!
