Is Resolution Roulette Worth Playing?

Every year in January many people examine where their lives are heading. That is a constructive project to undertake. The outcome is one or more New Year’s Resolutions to steer themselves toward the future they desire. That, too, is a useful task and an optimistic  idea. But is it too optimistic? 

What is a resolution?

The issue that makes such life forecasting not-so-constructive is that many times the resolutions are not actually resolved. That is, they are not used in the way the word is defined. The word resolve means to make a decision.  A resolution is an act that is already decided. Ideally, the resolution is designed to commit a person to a determined purpose and now the work of making that resolution a reality lies ahead.

It is no different than entering college with the decision made that you are going to graduate or starting a job determined to perform well.  A good New Year’s Resolution is one in which you start the year knowing that you anticipate demand success a year from now. With that idea of a resolution in mind it is important to be selective. It is not good to roll the dice, get swept away in emotion, and gamble the future when choosing a resolution.

What moves you?

Instead, a resolution should come from a blend of emotion, logic, and discernment. For most people, a popular or cliché resolution such as “eat healthier” or “lose weight” is not going to work. Why? Because it is about as inspiring as going to college to get an education or working to earn money. Go deeper! Big inspiration comes from grasping what you truly desire in return for your effort.

What do you really want?

Once you know the answer to that simple yet pivotal question you can ask the next.

Do you have to have it or be it by the end of the year?

You have a resolution if that answer is, “I do”.

Here are a few considerations to help you ponder how you might decide to change your life this year:

1. Pick a nagging habit you are fed up with tolerating.
2. Create a vision of how you want to live in one to five years.
3. Restart a goal you failed to work on last year.
4. Think about something you not too long ago performed well but are currently not doing at all or as successfully.
5. Adopt one simple healthy action to focus on making into a habit. Not 10 things… one!
6. What do you love to do? Is there a way you can do it more, better, or in a more engaging or challenging way?
7. Tag along with someone else’s resolution BUT personalize it.
8. Scrutinize your talents and skills. What can you do to make use of them and do something new?
9. Is there a childhood dream or a lingering desire from a few years past that you still want to attempt?
10. Come up with a huge goal that requires many stages of development. Make the first stage your next resolution.
11. Return to your talents and skills. What can you do outside of what you can already do well to add to your skillfulness?
12. What if you really don’t know? Resolve to learn more about something you may desire to do.

I suppose some of these are worth elaborating on, but I will save that for another time soon.

The key is to find something that inspires you to keep yourself motivated. Your resolution is decided from the day you select it and now you have the rest of the year to fulfill it.

Please add to our conversation by giving your thoughts below and sharing this article with others.