It’s definitely a bit late to be posting my 2019 resolutions, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot and am doing better at keeping them this year than any year previous. Historically I have always set SMART goals and then my wife got me to switch to WIG’s for a couple of years (Wildly Important Goals), similar to BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).
I will say that there is a place for some of these types of goal setting, and in particular, money related goals are different and should be WIG’s, BHAG’s or SMART goals. Outside of money goals, I’m moving away from these methods.
Some goals from last year went like this:
- Bike 2,000 miles (I got just over 1,300)
- Weigh 155 pounds (I went the other way, ending up at 175)
- Run 100 miles (I think I got 4 miles in there…)
- Read 12 books (Only read 5)
As you can see, I had some dismal results, so this year I have taken an entirely new approach.
Instead of setting these concrete goals, I’m trying to implement patterns and think about what I want to be.
2019 Patterns:
- I want to be a reader (Read a book 10 minutes per day)
- I want to get stronger and lose weight (Lift weights 3x per week)
- Blog 1x per week
- I want to get closer to God (Pray and study scripture each day)
- I want to strengthen my marriage (Lift my wife’s burdens)
Most of my goals are still somewhat measurable, but they aren’t necessarily time bound, and some aren’t very specific. I’m just focusing on exercising 4-5 times per week without an associated weight goal. When I’m focused on the pattern of life and not worried about the failure aspect, I stay motivated and the results will follow. I’ve already lost several pounds this year when last year all I did was gain.
These are not things I’m going to suddenly stop at the end of the year. These are things I want to do long term and some may drop in or out over time, but the plan is to make a consistent pattern of life, where I do most of these things every day.
The problem I have with goals is they do often seem daunting (maybe I struggle with realistic goals). If I have any small set back that makes the goal less realistic with the time I have left, it’s very demotivating and I lose more traction. I feel more motivated setting up some of these patterns and ideals that are based on what I want to be. I just go from where I am today and try to consistently read, exercise, serve my family and write.
This year I’ve ran over 35 miles, have lifted at the gym about 15 times and nearly completed 3 books (totaling over 600 pages). I’m on pace to far exceed any goals I set last year in any category. My blog is starting to improve as are my family relationships. Most importantly, is I don’t ever have to worry about New Year’s Resolutions again.
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