ysabetwordsmith | New Year's Resolutions

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From:

fuzzyred

Thanks for all the resources, I found some good ones in here! My approach doesn't seem to quite line up with what is "recommended", but it worked decently for me last year, and the links did give me some new ideas to try to increase success.

ysabetwordsmith

>> Thanks for all the resources, I found some good ones in here!<<

Yay!

>> My approach doesn't seem to quite line up with what is "recommended", <<

Neither does mine. That's okay, because people have different brains.

It seems to be a common experience that folks have trouble with New Year's resolutions, and from what I'm seeing, a leading reason is not that they're making "mistakes" but that they're using the wrong approach. This year it occurred to me to search for "different approach" and synonyms, which is why there are now a whole bunch of variations and alternatives.

The leading advice to pick just one thing is largely unfeasible for me, because with only one resolution, missing it would be miserable. I think that would only work for me if I had a major focus for a year, and even then I'd probably break it down into subgoals. I do much better in a target-rich environment. :D

>> but it worked decently for me last year,<<

I think last year was my most successful ever in terms of percentage completed. I doubt this year will come close to that, but it's decent. I had at least a couple of knockout successes that make me proud of myself in different ways from last year.

>> and the links did give me some new ideas to try to increase success.<<

I'm delighted to hear that. I encourage people to explore widely and try different things, so they can figure out what works for them. The diversity is lovely, and this is one area where that's really growing over time. Even though I couldn't always find exactly what I searched for, I had no trouble assembling a terrific link cloud.

I haven't done a thorough browse yet, but plan to before finalizing my list for next year. I am utterly charmed by the one-day resolutions, though. I have done things like that in the past, but hadn't really thought of them as a category unto themselves. I could only find a few references, so I'm hoping that the idea catches on and a year from now there will be multiple large lists to choose from.

>>The leading advice to pick just one thing is largely unfeasible for me, because with only one resolution, missing it would be miserable. I think that would only work for me if I had a major focus for a year, and even then I'd probably break it down into subgoals. I do much better in a target-rich environment. :D<<

I understand this feeling well. It is almost a guarantee that I won't get everything on my list; I'm okay with that. But if I have say, 15 goals and I reach 11, it feels a lot better than only having 1 or 2 goals and missing them all. I also routinely plan for more than I can do, just in case I do actually need the extras (like bringing 6 books on a two day family trip; even I don't read that fast.) Having more goals also lets me switch between them, so I don't get bored, bogged down or stuck.

>>I haven't done a thorough browse yet, but plan to before finalizing my list for next year. I am utterly charmed by the one-day resolutions, though. I have done things like that in the past, but hadn't really thought of them as a category unto themselves. I could only find a few references, so I'm hoping that the idea catches on and a year from now there will be multiple large lists to choose from.<<

I didn't go through all of them, but I did read quite a few of the psychology ones, and I appreciated seeing multiple perspectives. I do a lot better with examples than I do starting from scratch, so this was a good post.

I'm not sure how I feel about the one-day resolutions myself, though I may go back and look at those to get a better idea. I did add more time-limited goals this year though, so I'm going to see if that helps or hurts.

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