New Year Resolution - Be Smart in choosing one

Disclaimer- The content is entirely not original. I have attempted to augment my personal experience and thoughts.

Have you picked any resolution for this amazing year 2021?

If not, please read this warning: More than half of all resolutions fail during the first three months of the year.

Pick the Right Resolution!! 

A resolution that characterizes you and helps you reach your dream or goal. Don't just copy and paste somebody else's resolution.

A lot of resolutions fail because they’re not the right resolutions. And a resolution may be wrong for one of three main reasons:

1. It’s a resolution established on what someone else (or society) is telling you to alter.

2. It’s too vague.

3. You don’t have a practical plan for accomplishing the set resolution.

In this smart era, the goals should be smart — really, SMART. That’s an acronym coined in the journal Management Review in 1981 for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. If it works for management, it can also work in setting resolutions, too.

Try to be positive, but realistic. Yes, imagine the goal or positive fantasy, but then look at what obstacles are in the way and how to get over them.

Or use the technique W.O.O.P. — Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan.

Wish: What do you want?
Outcome: What would the ideal outcome be? What will your life look like when you hit your goal?
Obstacle: You know yourself. What will try to stop you? What has sidelined you before?
Plan: How will you get around it?

Let me share some of the examples to set the SMART resolution based on various reads and a few on personal exercise. 

1. “I’m going to eat healthier.” This can be a more specific goal like “I’m going to have at least two pieces of fruit a day and eat a salad before every dinner/lunch.”

2. Instead of resolution statements like “I’m going to work out every day.” it can be certain like "I’m going to exercise 2 to 3 days a week.”

3. “I will be a better spouse.” can be more action-oriented like "I’m going to make an effort to apologize when I should.”

4. “I’m going to save money.” can alter to “I will create and maintain a budget.”

5. “I will be less stressed by my job this year.” may be modified to better work-life balance resolution like “I will manage my workload in the office and give sincere time to my family.”

6. “I will become a good boss” could be specific like “I will be more empathetic to people around me”

Life is not the destination, it’s the journey. The journey becomes more enjoyable if certain goalposts reaffirm that we are on the correct path. These small smart moves help in making our life simple yet effective.