Advice for My Daughter

Tag: goals

  • The One Thing to Do Before You Pack Up Your Christmas Decorations

    The One Thing to Do Before You Pack Up Your Christmas Decorations

    The holiday season is over and decorations are coming down. When we do this, we usually talk about how much fun we had and we reflect on the meaning of our ornaments as we take them off the tree. Special Christmas cards are dated and stored in a box, cookie tins are packed away and the stockings come off the fireplace.

    But we don’t put the stockings away just yet.

    Every year, we sit down at the table with a small piece of paper and write down one thing that we want to achieve by next year and we slip it into each of our stockings. Then we pack up the stockings and store the decorations until next year.

    This one small tradition gives us a reminder that we have one year to turn a dream into a reality. Putting the note in our stocking is providing us with an endpoint.

    Next year, when we pull out the decorations, we will notice that there is something in our stockings and pull out the notes. This gives us a chance to talk about our year and how far we’ve come and shows us that we can make our dreams come true year round.

     

    Image: :Salihan

  • Resolutions Don’t Work, But This Does

    Resolutions Don’t Work, But This Does

    When the clock strikes midnight, a new year begins. It’s an amazing feeling to have a shiny new year laid out in front of you. The year is a clean slate, so it feels as if you can conquer the world.

    And you can. You absolutely can.

    But not with resolutions.

    When you make a resolution, you are making an absolute decision to do or not do something. You are making a vow to be perfect for the next 365 days. There is no room for error with resolutions. You either do it or you don’t. No mistakes allowed.

    Don’t do that to yourself. The world isn’t black or white. It is gray…and red…and electric orange.

    8,760

    That’s how many hours you have this year to work with. Rather than making resolutions, set goals. Rather than vowing to do something, make a plan.

    When you set a goal, you are saying that, by the end of the year you will accomplish something. Some days will be fantastic and some will be awful, but each day you will be making progress toward your goal.

    Goals are about progressGoals leave room for life to happen. If you have a rough week, it’s ok because you can make it up next week. If you are feeling motivated, you can make a big leap.

    Resolutions are about perfection. Goals are about progress.

    “Resolutions are about perfection. Goals are about progress.” (tweet this)

     

    In the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, habit two is “start with the end in mind.” First determine where you want to be in one year, then go backwards to determine how to get there. *

    Last year I set a goal of reading 120 books. That was the endpoint. In order to accomplish that, I broke it down into achievable pieces:

    120 books a year = 10 books a month = 2-3 books per week

    Each week, I would make sure that I was reading 2-3 books and my goal was easily met.

    You can achieve anything. You really can. Every day and every hour you are given is a chance to get closer to your dreams.

    Use that time wisely, but don’t live in black and white. Set your goals and then see your life for what it really can be…in all its vivid color!

     

    Image: Susana Fernandez

    * This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. If you click on it, I will receive a small bit of income.