Tuesday
Jan032012
Three little words and other anti-new year resolutions
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Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 10:02AM
Tuesday, January 3, 2012 at 10:02AM My family has some interesting perspectives on resolutions, that oft-repeated, too-little followed tradition of dedicating ourselves to a goal or mission every January 1st -- one which is usually forgotten or abandoned by January 10th (or dare I say the 4th).
One relative loves resolutions. She loves them so much that she tries to implement them on other holidays, not just the start of the year. “What’s your birthday resolution?”, she has been known to ask, to a response of sighs and head shaking.
Another relative refuses to make resolutions. “I’m already perfect, so I see no need,” he declares. “You can’t improve on perfection.” My sister and I laugh and shake our heads at that proclamation too.
As I mentioned in my first blog post, once you embrace entrepreneurial life, you have to learn to go easier on yourself sometimes. This is a learning process definitely, and so it’s taken me a while to stake out a position on new year resolutions. Where do I fall between those two poles: endlessly improving or going with what you have? Or are there other options?
After spending a short amount of time trying to describe a middle ground between those poles, I realized that of course there are other options. Three alternatives I particularly love are mentioned below.
One of my favorite alternatives is the desire list. Or a dream list, or a pleasure list.... the key distinction is that it’s a list of pleasurable goals, things that you get excited just thinking about (like a trip somewhere), and not things which you should do (like losing weight often is for people). It can be for any length or any time frame, or even just for this day or this hour. The genius in this is that by choosing or reframing goals to focus on what gives you pleasure, you tap into your intrinsic motivation instead of beating yourself up.
A few years ago, I did a mega-version of this, which was the 101 in 1001 list. (In case it’s not obvious, I have a thing with lists.) This is essentially a mini-bucket list which you commit to enjoying within 1001 days, or about three years. I love that the finite timeframe keeps you away from postponing the items. I made one of these lists in 2008 and am happy to say that I accomplished over 85 of the desires including visiting Greece, Turkey and Paris, and taking a tango class. There is an entire community of people making these lists together at the Day Zero Project.
The third alternative, which I read about just this week are choosing three words. The idea is that you choose three words as a theme for the year. It’s less specific but I like the idea of “pillars” for your year. The three I chose for 2012 are belief, persistence and light. In starting something new, I need the first two -- and so as not to take myself too seriously, I want the third. Lightness as in humor, less stress, and even healthier food.
Where are you on the new year’s resolution spectrum, and do you like the idea of three little words for your year? Thanks for reading and happy 2012!
One relative loves resolutions. She loves them so much that she tries to implement them on other holidays, not just the start of the year. “What’s your birthday resolution?”, she has been known to ask, to a response of sighs and head shaking.
Another relative refuses to make resolutions. “I’m already perfect, so I see no need,” he declares. “You can’t improve on perfection.” My sister and I laugh and shake our heads at that proclamation too.
As I mentioned in my first blog post, once you embrace entrepreneurial life, you have to learn to go easier on yourself sometimes. This is a learning process definitely, and so it’s taken me a while to stake out a position on new year resolutions. Where do I fall between those two poles: endlessly improving or going with what you have? Or are there other options?
After spending a short amount of time trying to describe a middle ground between those poles, I realized that of course there are other options. Three alternatives I particularly love are mentioned below.
One of my favorite alternatives is the desire list. Or a dream list, or a pleasure list.... the key distinction is that it’s a list of pleasurable goals, things that you get excited just thinking about (like a trip somewhere), and not things which you should do (like losing weight often is for people). It can be for any length or any time frame, or even just for this day or this hour. The genius in this is that by choosing or reframing goals to focus on what gives you pleasure, you tap into your intrinsic motivation instead of beating yourself up.
A few years ago, I did a mega-version of this, which was the 101 in 1001 list. (In case it’s not obvious, I have a thing with lists.) This is essentially a mini-bucket list which you commit to enjoying within 1001 days, or about three years. I love that the finite timeframe keeps you away from postponing the items. I made one of these lists in 2008 and am happy to say that I accomplished over 85 of the desires including visiting Greece, Turkey and Paris, and taking a tango class. There is an entire community of people making these lists together at the Day Zero Project.
The third alternative, which I read about just this week are choosing three words. The idea is that you choose three words as a theme for the year. It’s less specific but I like the idea of “pillars” for your year. The three I chose for 2012 are belief, persistence and light. In starting something new, I need the first two -- and so as not to take myself too seriously, I want the third. Lightness as in humor, less stress, and even healthier food.
Where are you on the new year’s resolution spectrum, and do you like the idea of three little words for your year? Thanks for reading and happy 2012!
Reader Comments (1)
i think this day are really great in this day you know what you want and what you can change in your life! i change my work at writers job !