about Commitment: What’s a resolution anyway?
…the number of pixels per square inch on my monitor? …finding a solution to a problem? …the pretty chords you hear following the dissonant chords that sometimes make my skin crawl (that song from Phantom of the Opera comes to mind at the moment)?
Every year at this time you hear this phrase floating about: New Year’s Resolution. In this context:
res-o-lu-tion [rez-uh-loo-shuhn] noun
a decision to do something or to behave in a certain manner
There’s a debate that exists on whether one should or should not declare a New Year’s Resolution. I heard (being a geek statistician and all) that roughly 97% of New Year’s Resolutions are not kept. (This doesn’t surprise me since I also know that about 3% of folks are natural-born leaders – the rest of us have to get trained.) So why bother if odds point to fail?
“A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”
– Oscar Wilde
This is the #1 debate that goes on in my head every January 1ish. Upon reflection, here are some points that I argue (with myself).
- A resolution is goal-setting which is always a good thing. Throwing the dart when there’s not even a target will always be a miss. I feel like I’m moving forward when I
finallymake a decision about something. Ever heard “Indecision is the Devil’s playground” or “Sitting on the fence hurts”? When I’m stuck, I actually feel like I’m going backwards. - A decision isn’t a strategy. Too often I set a goal with absolutely no idea of how to do it. Without strategy, its hit or miss. If you’ve never been to the destination before, a map would come in handy. This is when I have to make sure I set a realistic start date and deadline. January 1st ought to be my first planning day instead of the first day I’m expected to do a 180.
Hmmm…maybe the END of the year should be the deadline. - The goal means nothing without the effort. Perhaps my resolutions were broken because I never actually believed that I would accomplish them. Therefore I never committed to them. ‘Nuff sed.
- Efforting is hard. I have a bad habit of keeping goals to myself and then
forgetting about themtrying to accomplish them. The more people I tell the more I get excited about my goals. Those endorphins kick in and I don’t seem nearly as fatigued. But the best help is asking someone to hold me accountable which is usually the missing ingredient for me and then I get burned out. - Staying motivated is key for commitment. If I’ve learned anything in the last 3 years, I’ve learned that motivation does NOT come from accomplishing a goal. Motivation comes via the REASON the goal was set in the first place, whether it be for joy, health, spirit, or [insert core value here].
So do I have a New Year’s Resolution? I do. And a New Year’s Strategy too! I resolve to make time to write, beginning with my blog. I unexpectedly announced it to myself in a reply to Lori @spinningyellow’s tweet about HER resolution. My goal is to post at least once a week, however seeing that once a month is rare, I’m going to start with at least once a month. (January…check! Guess I can move up to biweekly now!) I am motivated by feedback because I learn about people, I learn about myself (usually that I’m too hard on myself or too full of myself), and the more I can learn the more open-minded I become and the better I can teach my kids how to navigate through this world. After all, they are the REASON I do about 98% of the things I do. From ‘Gotta eat so I don’t snap and throw one out the window’ to ‘Gotta hug and kiss The Hub so they don’t think they are the center of my universe all the time.’ (Yeah…I haven’t figured out how sudoku or bubble shooter benefits them yet. Guess that falls under the 2%.)
Now I’m asking my readers and ex-readers who thought I fell off the edge of the planet, to help hold me accountable. How? Comment often? Subscribe to my blog? Tweet/FB this post? Send me chocolate? Your resolution to share however and whenever will be most appreciated by me and will likely have a greater impact than you probably think.
Related posts:
Okay… how exactly will sending Chocolate help hold you accountable?
Actually, I’m awfully glad that you have ‘resolved’ to write more on your blog. It’s the one of the few ways I can keep up with your goings on… now if only I could do the same thing for my blog….
Send chocolate…check! Well, at least to T.
Hope you got a bite. Love you.
i didn’t
This is a great blog Jennifer! I kept my resolutions last year for about half of the year. I read half of my bible and excercised consistently for half (may be exaggerating a bit on the latter
. I resolve to read the other half this year! I’m like you, I don’t tell my resolutons to people that matter because I’m scared of the accountability part. Anyway, I do always resolve to become closer to my Saviour because I’m accountable to him regardless of any resolutions made. Happy New Year! I love You! Maybe we should resolve to actually see one another this year!
Yay! You’re back!!!
So THIS is what kept you up until 4:30 in the morning.
I got 1 word:
AWESOME!
(in Tennessee and the South in general, that’s 2 syllables)
I probably need to remind you that you will be able to do this will less accountability from the outside world and more of an inner fire motivation if you:
1) Stay Hydrated
2) Eat
That Laslo guy’s idea
Incentives… yea, I can think of a couple (nudge nudge, wink wink) but rather, this is something that we can do together and will be much more productive and Soduko or Five or More.
Awesome has 2 syllables in all regions of the world…