This week, my brother Andy and I were discussing New Year’s Resolutions, both of us saying we don’t really do them anymore. I realized that I did have one and told him. “If I have one it is to meditate every day this year. But wait a minute. That is not a resolution. It is a decision.”
That got us thinking and discussing the difference between goals and decisions. A resolution is a goal, something I aspire to, something we are striving for, but don’t control. We surely can influence it, but we don’t control it. A decision is something we can fully control. That is a big difference. Both are needed to progress and if we focus much more on decisions than goals, we are more likely to hit our goals. Once we have made a decision, it is completely up to us to keep it or not. This brings the focus to what we can control and we are more likely to do it as we have clarified in our minds that it is completely our choice to do it or not. There are no outside factors to hide behind. So I have made a decision this year to meditate every day. I sometimes meditate 2x a day and my longest streak is 142 days. I have decided to pass that his year. This will support my goal of good health.
In your resolutions, what is a goal and what is a decision?
In any case, I wish you the best on both.
Have a great weekend,
Art
PS: Best annual goal planning I have found recently is to write yourself two letters at the beginning of the year. But you are writing them from the end of the year. First letter is a Year End Letter to your loved ones, “This was a great year for me because…..”. This captures your personal life. The second is a professional performance review written from the end of 2023. “This was a great year a work because…”. I just reviewed mine from last year and was pleasantly surprised how many of my goals had come to pass. Now to write mine for 2023.
PPS: Fun way to celebrate the year gone by is to go through your photos and pick your favorites and share that slide show with a loved one.