I usually make a laundry list of New Year’s resolutions for myself. I am going to do this. I am not going to do that. I am going to completely transform my life and there is no room for mistakes because I’m only going to live this life once and it has to be perfect.
To which the universe likes to respond with uncontrollable laughter.
Last year I was better. Last year I only made five New Year’s Resolutions. And I did better with them than I usually do. I did write more. I did start reading regularly again (and once I got over the initial hump of reading, I enjoyed it enough to find time for it again). I did take better care of myself (thanks Adam!).
If the quality of a year can be based only on the success of New Year’s Resolutions, then 2008 was my best year ever.
Then again, maybe it is a really good thing that New Year’s Resolutions success is not the only aspect to quality of life.
I had a plan that I was going to do away with my Resolutions this year. And that’s why I did not write about them earlier. Because I wasn’t going to acknowledge the new calendar year in such a way.
Slowly but surely (okay, not slowly, I caved in about a week), I abandoned my plan. I just couldn’t do it. I could not open my pink planner everyday of the year and not see my list of my resolutions (carefully printed on my favorite stationary), waiting for me to be inspired by my best intentions.
At least this year, I’ll only have one resolution: I’m doing quarterly goals.
I’m trying to think about it this way: The only thing that I know about my life twelve months from now is that it won’t be the same as it is today. How can I write a good resolution if I don’t know where I’ll be? And if things aren’t going the way I hope they will, if life gets in the way, if whatever happens, a New Year’s Resolution isn’t going to do me any good.
With resetting my goals every quarter, I’ll give myself a chance to keep an eye on where I’m going and make sure what I thought would work actually does work. It also gives me the chance to set smaller, more manageable goals and still have focus when a goal is complete.
I’ve set a meeting with myself on April 1st to evaluate how my first quarter worked out. Two big items for discussion with myself involve how successful I was with paying down credit card debt and not making any new purchases (ie: using the library instead of spending my hard earned cash on books I don’t have time to read yet).
Here’s to 1Q09!
Rebecca said...
1Great post. I usually resist NY resolutions too, but this year I was excited to do them, but labeled them “Goals” instead. I’m focusing on:
1) Modite (blogging, writing, other related ideas)
2) Movement (exercise, but movement sounds nicer)
3) Relationships (mom, sisters, friends, boyfriend)
and of course, “I am going to completely transform my life and there is no room for mistakes because I’m only going to live this life once and it has to be perfect.”
01/13/09 1:22 AM | Comment Link