* * *
After rousing myself from a sleep that didn’t begin until 1:30 this morning, trying to avoid leftover pine needles stuck in the carpet, and shimmying my way through some fierce Wii hula hooping, I finally looked at the clock and thought, “Oh, is it time to make a new year’s resolution?” Absolutely.
Not.
I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions. Oh wait, hang on. I made one last year and actually kept it. So why wreck a good thing while I’m ahead?
It’s not that I’m averse to goal-setting. On the contrary. Goals are good. Goals are fine. Goals are all fine and good. But on January 1st, I’d much rather be lounging around, consuming copious amounts of my friend’s homemade salsa, than gnawing on a pencil and staring at a piece of paper with a lot of blank lines. (Memo to me: try unlined paper next year.)
Setting big goals at the beginning of a 365-day stretch is on par with me being flown by helicopter to the top of a snowy peak, handed some skis, and being told, “See you at the bottom.” In short: failure. So instead, I aim for little goals throughout the year. Because sometimes I just need to succeed in Goal “Get Up at 6 a.m. and Be Coherent” rather than fail in Goal “Exercise Daily for One Hour” or Goal “Take Up Knitting and Make a Sweater” or Goal “Create Zen Garden; Let Peace and Harmony Ensue.”
Not.
I’m not a fan of new year’s resolutions. Oh wait, hang on. I made one last year and actually kept it. So why wreck a good thing while I’m ahead?
It’s not that I’m averse to goal-setting. On the contrary. Goals are good. Goals are fine. Goals are all fine and good. But on January 1st, I’d much rather be lounging around, consuming copious amounts of my friend’s homemade salsa, than gnawing on a pencil and staring at a piece of paper with a lot of blank lines. (Memo to me: try unlined paper next year.)
Setting big goals at the beginning of a 365-day stretch is on par with me being flown by helicopter to the top of a snowy peak, handed some skis, and being told, “See you at the bottom.” In short: failure. So instead, I aim for little goals throughout the year. Because sometimes I just need to succeed in Goal “Get Up at 6 a.m. and Be Coherent” rather than fail in Goal “Exercise Daily for One Hour” or Goal “Take Up Knitting and Make a Sweater” or Goal “Create Zen Garden; Let Peace and Harmony Ensue.”
Small goals it shall be. They make for a better, calmer, less-stressed me. Zen garden or not.
.jpg)
I hear ya! Kyle welcomes me into the February Failure Club each year with that list of goals. This year I thought I would try a different one each month, and I'm not deciding what it will be until that month. I just may choose to read in the sunshine more often in August before trying to get up at 5:30 am when school starts again in September. Darn it! Now I have to come up with new ones!!!
ReplyDeleteGood luck this year.
I'm with you! I set a big general life goal at the beginning of the year, but any specific daily or weekly goals lead to failure. Although, I think unlined paper might be a solution...
ReplyDelete