As the year comes to an end, I’m reminded of the age old tradition of setting resolutions. Have you made one? Some of the most popular examples are losing weight, quitting smoking, joining a gym, saving more money, etc.
A few years ago, rather than making a resolution, I began participating in 101 Goals in 1001 Days. I really liked the concept and I accomplished almost half my goals in the first year. The problem though is that 1001 days is almost three years long. A lot changes in three years. (Heck, in three years, I had two pregnancies, three kids, quit my career of almost 10 years, completely changed job industries, and now work from home!)
A lot of the goals were simple or even silly things: taking the girls to go strawberry picking for the first time, touring new parts of our city, visiting family close by more often, etc. Then there were big “resolution” type goals like saving up an emergency fund, paying off debt, and remodeling things in the home.
So why can’t we make resolutions mid-year? Why do we wait for the New Year? It’s easy to use this “fresh start,” especially when making a major change and while I think it’s a noble idea to make a resolution, it really only matters if you truly stick with it. A common belief is that it takes 21 days to build or break a habit. Research now proves that this concept was developed by self-help style therapies for simple, repetitive tasks. Major lifestyle changes will take more than three weeks to make common for you.
So before you jump on the New Year’s Resolution bandwagon, think about the change you are really going to make. Make sure you have all the necessary support, materials, time, energy, dedication, motivation, etc. If you aren’t ready on January 1st, do not pressure yourself. Take the fresh New Year, to wrap your mind around your wishes and resolve to change on February 1st or March 1st or even April 13th if that suits you better. As soon as you are committed to your change, do it!
Over the next year, I’m going to blog about some major changes I’ve been making and more to come using Day Zero Project’s 7 Things x 2013 and I’ll bring you along for my journey. Expect honesty (because when you make a big change, some lapses are expected) and tips and tricks.
Are you making a resolution? What kind of things are you trying to change? I’d love to hear about them so we can go on this journey together!
Let’s connect on social media too:
Mumbling Mommy on Facebook
Mumbling Mommy on Twitter
Mumbling Mommy on Pinterest
Tags: goals
