Resolutions or Goals?
by Sue Gustafson
Why goals work and resolutions don't is very much in mind, because it's the New Year,, and how long do all those fine resolutions typically last? Particularly with something like art, where it can be hard to define even what you want, never mind how to get there. With running, too, all the same obstacles jump up in your way. Without the right kind of plan, the tools to get there just aren't where you can lay hands on them.
A resolution is basically an act of will: "I will do this." It's a fine thing, but tends not to have a lot of content about how you're going to do this. And there's usually a bunch of pride and self-judgment involved. A resolution is typically something you think you should be doing. So the minute things start to slip, which they always will. You lose a little focus and then a little more, and after a while, the resolution (the nasty thing) slips out of sight. By its nature, it recruits all the wrong forces in its behalf.
With a goal, you're starting out with something you know you want to do. Wanting to do something automatically opens your mind, and it starts thinking how that could happen. It's automatically less judgmental, and both your interest and your involvement are engaged. If you fall off the wagon, well that's annoying. Now how do you get back on? Then, if you have a goal-setting strategy,. it makes each thing you need to do specific, and helps you identify the things in your way and how to get around them. So it's no longer a question of will you get there, it's how will you get there. The pressure's off by a whole bunch, and you're thinking more of the next thing you need to do, and less about whether you're going to succeed or not. Plus, if it doesn't work, it's more an issue of "Hmm. That's interesting, why not?" and less "Oh, no, I'm slipping already, this isn't going to work!"
Plus, a goal is by its nature hope, and hope is one of the most powerful motivating forces on the planet.
by Sue Gustafson
Why goals work and resolutions don't is very much in mind, because it's the New Year,, and how long do all those fine resolutions typically last? Particularly with something like art, where it can be hard to define even what you want, never mind how to get there. With running, too, all the same obstacles jump up in your way. Without the right kind of plan, the tools to get there just aren't where you can lay hands on them.
A resolution is basically an act of will: "I will do this." It's a fine thing, but tends not to have a lot of content about how you're going to do this. And there's usually a bunch of pride and self-judgment involved. A resolution is typically something you think you should be doing. So the minute things start to slip, which they always will. You lose a little focus and then a little more, and after a while, the resolution (the nasty thing) slips out of sight. By its nature, it recruits all the wrong forces in its behalf.
With a goal, you're starting out with something you know you want to do. Wanting to do something automatically opens your mind, and it starts thinking how that could happen. It's automatically less judgmental, and both your interest and your involvement are engaged. If you fall off the wagon, well that's annoying. Now how do you get back on? Then, if you have a goal-setting strategy,. it makes each thing you need to do specific, and helps you identify the things in your way and how to get around them. So it's no longer a question of will you get there, it's how will you get there. The pressure's off by a whole bunch, and you're thinking more of the next thing you need to do, and less about whether you're going to succeed or not. Plus, if it doesn't work, it's more an issue of "Hmm. That's interesting, why not?" and less "Oh, no, I'm slipping already, this isn't going to work!"
Plus, a goal is by its nature hope, and hope is one of the most powerful motivating forces on the planet.