When you love where you are and who you are, you can rest assured you are on the right path.

I often struggle internally with setting New Year’s Resolutions. On the one hand, I see the power and importance of setting goals. I see how helpful they can be in thinking positively. And I see the beginning of a new year as an excellent opportunity to make use of the fresh start feeling I get this time of year. On the other hand, unlike other goals, I see a personal track record of not finishing these resolutions. And this sense of looming failure does not feel good.


I have an easier time staying with a goal I make any other time of year. There is something about a New Year Resolution where after falling off track even once, I suddenly feel as if I failed entirely and give up the resolution. For example, I’ve set NYR’s in the past saying, “I am going to meditate every day this year!” and then if you plotted out my frequency of meditating you would see I hit every day consistently until the first miss… after that, the meditations become sporadic and sparse until ultimately they die out all together.


What I am noticing is that these resolutions are more about an accomplishment, like doing something every day for a year, rather than about the real reasons why I want to do that thing, meditation in this case, more regularly. When my goal is to meditate every day for a year and I miss a day, then yes, I have technically failed. But who cares if I really meditate every day for a year? Wasn’t the point to meditate more, and haven’t I done that?


It’s often been said to enjoy the journey itself; not just getting to the finish line. So that’s my resolution this year, to enjoy the journey of the other goals I set regardless of the ultimate outcome. That is not to say that I do not believe in the importance of results. I think they are the fairest and only way to judge anything. But, what it means for me is that if I focus on enjoying the journey rather than only worrying about those results, I believe that I will yield better results.


So go ahead and set a resolution for 2012! Declare you are going to release 10 lbs, get a better job, fall in love, quit smoking etc! Embrace your fear and reluctance. And be happy that you are eating better, working out more, applying to new jobs, meeting new people, getting yourself out there, etc… because at the end of the year you will have filled your life with more of what you want whether you hit the specific resolution or not.


Happy New Year!


Continue to check out our blog this month as we explore the best practices for goal setting, maintaining focus, and getting back on track.


What are your New Year’s Resolutions? Leave a comment below and let us know!