Resolutions Checkup

5 01, 2016

How are your 2016 resolutions coming along?

By |2016-01-04T00:07:28-06:00January 5th, 2016|Make Me Think Monday|0 Comments

We’re four days into the New Year. If you’re like me, I suspect you’ve broken one or more of the resolutions you made for this year.

It happens. Good intentions slide, pushed aside by reality and unrealistic expectations.

What happens next is discouragement. Our mindset becomes I can’t and we set aside our goals. We give up.

That’s so sad and not the correct response, in my opinion. Let me tell you why I think that way.

Recently my youngest daughter shared her Elsie Joy’s goal tracker sheet from 2015 on Instagram. Every day my daughter had marked her goal progress on the tracking sheet. On December 31st she did the math and found she’d hit her goal 93.15% of the time. For someone who works full time in a high tech position that requires lots of travel, scrapbooks, blogs, and corrals three active teenagers and a special needs dog. That’s a remarkable result!

So why was my daughter so successful? I believe there are two reasons:
Big Things HappenFirst, she applied Elise Joy’s principle of “Big Things Happen One Day at a Time.”

Second, when she missed a day to bubble in one of her circles, she blew it off and let it go.

I’m big on accountability and goals. I’ve always set yearly goals and charted the methods I’d use to accomplish those goals. I blogged about my process here.

This year I’m adding a goal sheet like my daughter’s as a handy visual to chart my success. Seeing those circles bubbled will encourage.

goal sheetsLooking bare right now, but 2016 just started. Yes, you’ll also notice there are already days I’ve missed for one of my goals.

That’s okay. Tomorrow is a new day.

Btw, I get no kickback from Elsie Joy. I just happened to believe her chart is a great way to stay on target for our New Years’ resolutions. Check out her website for other goal setting tools.

Or, create your own chart design if you want. But most of all, I hope you forget about the broken resolutions and give those resolutions another try.

22 01, 2014

Resolutions Checkup – One Word Wednesday

By |2018-01-17T08:43:16-06:00January 22nd, 2014|one word Wednesday|0 Comments

We’re three weeks into the New Year. How are your resolutions working out?

Goal setting reminds me of eating at a cafeteria. All those choices and, as my grandmother would always say when I could barely lift my food tray–my eyes become bigger than my stomach.

That happens with setting goals. We’re so energetic and eager to start over after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that we overextend. We set our expectations too high.

If you’re like most of us, those good intentions for a new start to the year are slowing falling away. Why? I think it’s because we set vague or unattainable goals like these.

medium_New_Year_Comic_for_WritersSo if you’re feeling down because your resolutions aren’t happening, look at your goal. Have you set the standard too high?

Adjust and move on.

If you’re a writer, take to heart the advice in the poster. I bet you’ll discover your eyes aren’t bigger than goals.

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