Welcome to day one of the “New Year Goal Setting Series” which will run all week from Monday until Friday. As I mentioned in a post last week I have deviated from my posting schedule only for the holiday season. For this very special first installment of the series I will discuss why it is better to set goals than resolutions during the New Year.
1. Resolutions are very general. Let’s be honest most resolutions consist of “I want to get higher grades” or “I want on saving a lot of money.” It’s great that you want to improve your situation but you are going to have a difficult time attaining such a broad resolution.
2. Goals are specific. Goals should always be S.M.A.R.T (tomorrows post topic) and a much more specific focus. For example a goal would state that “I want to score an 90% on my Economic’s midterm” which is more attainable than a general resolution of wanting to get higher grades.
3. Higher chance of success. You are more likely to reach a specific goal than an overall resolution. If you decided to make your New Years resolution that you will save tons of money, then as soon as you spend money you will feel as if you failed. An ideal goal would be to state that you plan on saving more or that you plan on focusing more attention on your spending habits.
Hopefully what I have stated thus far makes sense. If you agree with my theory of setting goals instead of a New Years resolution this year then here are a few more tips.
Don’t go over your head with goals. If you decide to set a few goals for yourself this New Year then please make sure that you keep it simple and don’t get carried away with the goals. The point of setting goals is so that you challenge yourself, not burn yourself out.
Set many small goals. The benefit of setting goals is that they can come in any form or size. I find that it is more beneficial to set many small goals that are attainable as opposed to large goals that may be more out of reach.
Think of the big picture. Always have the end target in mind while focusing on the small goals you have set. For example if you plan on saving $10,000 in 2009 then set monthly or even weekly goals. Every time you save an extra $50 or $100 think of the big picture which is your goal to have $10,000 at the end of the year.