A friend posted that she was NOT making resolutions for the new year.  Instead she was making a list of things she will NOT do in 2012.  She was making a list of goals.  Usually people make resolutions to:

  • Stop smoking
  • Lose weight
  • Spend more time with family/friends
  • Quit drinking
  • Get out of debt
  • Help others (charity, donations, etc.)
  • Learn something new
  • Get organizeThere are so many choices.  Your resolutions can overwhelm you so much in January that by March you are doing nothing towards self improvement.  How many times have I seen the gym be packed with well meaning folks in January fall to the wayside by March?  Too many times to count.  Resolutions tend to be a tongue and cheek “thing to do” no one takes too seriously.

So what should we do?

Instead of resolutions, we should set up large goals with mini goals penned in to keep us accountable.  If your goal is to improve your business, write down what it would look like and set up mini goals to help you achieve your main goal.  Mini goals can be an advertising campaign, social networking, sales, shop/business makeover, etc..  Once you achieve the mini goals, they can encourage you to keep toward achieving your main goal.  Once 2012 is fading toward 2013, you can look back at your notes and plans to see that you did achieve your goals.  If you managed to improve your business, then pat yourself on the back for a job well done.  If you missed your mark, then you have documentation you can use to rework your strategy for the new year.  It becomes a win win for you!
This main goal and mini goals strategy works well for all “resolutions”.  If you want to find yourself in a win-win situation for whatever goal you want to achieve, then take the time to write out your plan.  In this day and age when texting is a huge social phenomenon, it’s ironic that people seem hesitant to actually write down actual text to reference later.  Once you commit to something in writing, you are making a contract you should not want to break.

So let’s toss those resolutions aside and set some goals.

Happy New Year!

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