Set Goal, Not Resolutions—New Years 2022 (What??)

I read this somewhere or heard it somewhere, or something like it, I’m not sure, but it’s a good reminder for all of us. When you are thinking about your New Year’s Resolutions, remember they should be REWARDING, not RESTRICTING. Also, think about setting goals instead of resolutions. Even the word “resolution” sounds defeating to me. Yes, the word just means a commitment, but “resolve” just sounds heavy. Maybe it’s just me. The word “goals” sounds exciting and full of adventure, so I’m sticking with it. 

Goals are those things that challenge us to be better in some area; they are not those things to make us feel guilty in any area. Guilt never moves a person forward. Sure, you might get something done that you weren’t doing because you felt guilty about it, but your mental health will suffer if your only desire is to keep guilt down, not hopes high. Guilt manipulates, it doesn’t guide to a better behavior. So, this year, perhaps it would be best to set realistic, practical goals, not resolutions that are hard to manage or complete. I am a goal setting, checklist kind of person, so I love a good New Year’s opportunity! LOL 

There are so many factors to consider when setting goals or resolutions, if that sounds better to you—your age, the amount of free time you have, your health, to name a few. But it’s important to not get too bogged down in the restrictions but look at the rewards. Anytime you set a goal and complete it, there is a reward. I set a goal years ago to learn how to play tennis. I was 45 years old, not a spring chicken. But, as a result, I have had years of enjoying that goal and continue to play tennis with all my grandchildren. Now that’s reaping a good reward for New Year’s Goal. 

A good place to start is to divide your goals into three categories. Fun, educational, and connectable. Your FUN goals can be anything YOU have always wanted to do. Like learn to paint or play tennis or cook a gourmet meal or run a marathon or grow out your hair. Anything that’s brings you joy and new life. The trick here is to take actual and concrete steps to do the thing. For me to become a tennis player, I had to take lessons, so I called a tennis club and signed up, which made to go learn the game. Boom! Do something concrete (set in stone) to make that goal happen. 

Educational refers to a goal to advance you in the job you love to do or the way you perform as a wife or mom or believer or anything. That can be at your workspace or your home space, after all, we DO work at home. Right? We always need to stay educated in something. So, think of things like take a class at a community college to help in your career or read or listen to a book on your job topic or listen to one podcast a week about whatever it is you do. If you are thinking about your home life, set a goal of listening to a podcast on parenting or being a better spouse or how to organize your home. Anything that moves you from here to there in your job as a wife, mom, coworker, grandma, sister, etc. 

Next, think about the people in your life you want to connect to. For this one I’m talking about reaching out of yourself and into the life of someone else. Even with all our connections today, like Facebook, etc., we are a very disconnected group of people. Gone are the days of lingering over the fence or in the yard visiting with your neighbors. We are too busy and rarely know our neighbors like we did in the 1950’s. Plus, we’ve just spent two years in isolation! Good grief! It’s time to connect with people. So, set some goals in 2022 that include other people. Set aside one night a month for dinner with someone new at church or at work or in the neighborhood. If you’re not a cook, invite someone to lunch out after church on Sunday. If you’re adventurous, invite someone over for game night. Break out the old Scattergories game or Scrabble or play cards. You don’t even have to do all the cooking. New friends would love an invite that included instructions like “Bring your favorite appetizer and join the fun!” Our house is a revolving door of people, but over the past two years, we’ve neglected new faces. I’m suspecting you might feel the same. This year we’re going to concentrate on inviting new faces from our church family into our home and getting to know them better. Hopefully, I can give you an update in December 2022 on how that went. 

Well, I hope this helps you set some fun, educational and connectable life goals this new year. Remember no matter how old you are, you are still learning and growing.

Hugs, Chrys