It's time for New Year's Resolutions...errrr...Goals

As 2013 winds to a close, my thoughts go towards reflection on the year. I try not to dwell on things that happened outside of my control. Rather I like to focus on my actions...and in-actions. 

As I travel through a year's worth of reflections, one things stands out. Areas in which I had well-formed, clear-cut goals are the ones I feel better about.  For those areas where I did not have goals set I discovered something interesting. Either I was disappointed in the outcome, because I somehow did not measure up to an unstated goal, or I patted myself on the back for an achievement, which in retrospect was not a very challenging one.

One area that really stands out as a disappointment to me is that of setting last year's New Year's Resolution. It was a really good idea - write more cards and letters to those I care about, with a special focus on the women in my life. Oh, I sent lots of cards to my female friends over the course of the year. I especially love to find cards with quotes I feel will be an encouragement. I wrote cards regularly, and for quite a while I even kept track. I felt really good about that. Then came the down-times. The times when I forgot or got busy for weeks on end and no cards went out. I felt really bad about that, and I wind up here at the end of the year not sure if

I truly feel the reason I fell short in last year's resolution is because it was so nebulous - "Write to friends and family more." Nice thought. Lame goal.

So, this year I will set true goals, rather than nice thoughts. Here goes...

  • I will read a minimum of one book a month, with at least 1/3 of them being of a professional development nature.
  • I will write a minimum of 2 cards/letters a month to family and/or friends, with an emphasis on the females in my life.
  • I will write a minimum of 2 blog posts a month (I thought about cheating a bit and waiting to post this post on Jan. 1st...but here it is now). 
  • I will try out at least one new recipe a month.
These may not seem like big goals to some, but then again, they are my goals (not yours) and my whole point is to start some positive habits. One thing that will help me is Chuck knows about these and will help me stay accountable.

So, my goals are Specific, they are Measurable, they are Attainable, they are Relevant (they are for me and not to meet anyone else's expectations), and they are Time-bound. As a bonus I have set up an accountability process, so I have SMART goals with accountability :) 

I am looking forward to my end-of-year review next December. Hopefully I will find that I have done a better job of keeping on top of my goals...and I might be ready for some loftier ones!



Comments

  1. CatherineDecember 30, 2013 at 7:11 PM

    Sending cards is nice. I always have ambitions of sending real cards out (especially for birthdays), but never do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Susan ScottFebruary 4, 2014 at 4:31 PM

    End-of-January eval...
    Reading - didn't finish Ender's Game...but I'm almost there.
    Cards - wrote at least 4
    Blog - nope...so I'll do more this month
    Recipes - tried at least 2 new ones...probably more.

    ReplyDelete

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