Monday, January 11, 2010

Bit #45: Finding that Girl~Set Monthly Goals

Little Life Lesson and Bit of Grace 45: Instead of Yearly Resolutions, set monthly goals or resolutions

{Editor's Note: Happy 2010 again! Welcome back to Whitney and her weekly, Finding that Girl piece. I love this entry and think this idea is perfect. It not only will help us be more accountable, it will also encourage us to reach those goals. Let's kick our new year off to a great start.}

Here we are on the 11th day of 2010.

How do you say this year, by the way?

Do you say "Twenty ten" or "Two thousand ten" or something else?

Me? I go back and forth.

The one thing I can't stand to hear people say is "oh 10." You know, like '09 or '08? It does not have a zero in front of it, people!!!!







Anyway, it's too early in the year for me to start complaining about petty things. I'll save that til at least February.



Do you make resolutions? Some people don't. Then, there are the people who make "goals" because they don't like the word resolution. Personally, I think the "goals" that you make in January are just resolutions without the champagne hangover. Either way, I think it's good to have something to set yourself up for each year. I've never liked to call mine resolutions, personally but I've always made a list of things I'd like to do for the year.

One problem I've always had, though and something I've noticed that I've now changed this year is that I make unrealistic expectations for myself. I set goals that I know are too difficult to achieve in a specified timeframe and then when I don't achieve them I go into a depression-like funk that is never fun to try and pull myself out of. I've always been this way and I do it in more areas than just goals. I place unrealistic expectations on everything and then when I'm disappointed, I wonder why.

So, yes at the beginning of this year - just like any other year - I set goals for myself. But in a different way. First, I began by looking back on 2009. I looked at what I thought I did good during the year and what I thought I could improve upon. Then, I made a decision. I decided that I wasn't going to make yearly goals for myself, rather I would make monthly ones that were much more attainable. I'll share those goals with you every month and let you know where I stand on the previous challenges I set for myself. I believe this way, I'll keep better track on what it is that I've set out to do and my shortcomings will be more fresh in my mind so I can make better judgments on where I went wrong and what I can change to achieve the goal in the next month. Because let's face it - a year is a long time and no matter how disappointing or hurtful something is the details of the situation can become fuzzy over time and cloud our judgment when assessing our year on January 1st when it's time to make our goals.

So here's January:

1. Quit old job and start new one. (Technically I took care of the quitting part on 12/31/09, so it can be crossed off.)

2. Start the habit eating 6 servings of fruit a day.

3. Walk 3 miles daily without stopping. (Soon the walking will progress to running!!!)

4. Begin writing my business plan. (More on this later! So exciting!)

5. Write at least 5 snail mail letters a week.

I'm already off to a good start. I began the year with a completely new job, a new haircut(bangs included), some new clothes and most importantly a new outlook on life. 2010 (however you say it) is going to be a fantastic year. I can feel it, I can see it and I'm so excited to see what this year has to offer me and all of you!

What did you resolve to do in 2010?

1 comment:

  1. Excellent idea to make things more manageable. My resolutions usually come back to haunt me. I quit smoking and am working on getting back in shape!

    I want to see your haircut!

    ReplyDelete

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