Setting Goals Instead of Resolutions

Many people make New Year's resolutions, but statistics show they usually aren't successful. Only about 8% of the resolutions made around the first of each year are kept. In fact, so many people have failed to keep them that only about 45% of Americans say they make them anymore.

Making resolutions may be rather futile, but setting goals have better results. We often try to achieve resolutions all at once, but with goals, we expect to break them down into steps. Goals are targets and not absolutes, so it is more acceptable if we have to adjust them along the way. With resolutions, we see failures, but with goals, we view them as temporary setbacks.

Whether we do it at the end of a year or at other points on the calendar, it is good to evaluate the previous year and set goals for the new one. When I taught school, I always evaluated the past school year in June, reflected over the summer, and formed a new set of goals by August. This doesn't have to be done on paper, but it helps to do it. I plan to do something similar as a writer this year. As a historian, I know that assessing the past can help plan for a better future.

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