Goals or Resolutions
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As I end each year and start afresh, I work through my accomplishments and misses of the prior year and plan for the coming year. Habits that hold over from my corporate days drive the process, though now I’m much more focused on accomplishing things that make me happy rather than worried about work. Health, family, and writing all get their targets.
Others embrace the annual ritual of New Year’s resolutions. That sheer number of people mobbing my gym in January attest to that approach, though I already see the crowds thin.
Always curious, I asked you, Dear Readers, whether you set goals, make resolutions, or don’t focus on annual targets. The results appear below:

The numbers are always interesting, but it’s the comments that I love the most. I should start with the fact that not a single person voted for resolutions and dropped a comment. And the goal setters tended to concise answers:
Set Goals
Broad plan works best.
I don’t resolve, I set goals.
Let me plan!
I have found the book Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg very helpful.
My goal is to try to do or experience 52 new things each year.
I must admit how much I love that last one. What a terrific goal to experience a new thing every week!
As for the majority who don’t set goals, most of the responses fell into one of two camps. The first are those who take things day by day:
Don’t set targets – Day By Day
I’ve had so many years of planning and trying to be organized only for it all to fall apart. Now I just try to take it one day at a time.
When something needs to be done, I just do it. My only one target is to get the dog out each and every day.
I probably should set some resolutions to give myself a purpose but I’m so easily sidetracked and/or distracted that I just get to the end of the day and wonder where it all went!
Others, though, do set goals of some variety, but don’t adhere to the annual flow.
Don’t set targets – at least not annually
Rather than an enumerated list of goals (lose weight, exercise more) with metrics, or an annual plan with milestones, this year I’m going with intentions and related metrics.
I used to set goals every year. One for each area of my life. Work, social, creative, health, etc. I kept this up for several years after retirement. I scrapped it all when I had cancer. I am still mindful of those goal areas but no longer track progress. I try to choose one area that I feel I’m really slacking on, and focus for a shorter period of time.
This is something I started doing the older I got; it felt like resolutions/choices should be made through out the year. I will admit that the new year always triggers a tiny something in me that does make me look at things and see what I might want to work on (again :-))
But I do try to have intentions for the day or for the week.. it helps me get things done or resolve issues
None of the above. I had a health scare last year so that made me re-examine my priorities and commit to make some changes. I have some goals but I wouldn’t really call them either annual goals or New Year’s resolutions.
I tried resolutions and monthly goals but never followed through so found that it’s better to go with the flow. I do set daily or weekly goals but that is as far as I get.
Hope that look at your fellow readers is as insightful for you as it was for me. Don’t forget to take this month’s survey by going here.