How are those resolutions coming along?
Welcome to 2023, another year for us to achieve our resolutions. While 2022 was spent catching up on everything we missed during the lockdown, 2023 might be the year we focus on the new normal that we are getting used to. Nonetheless, the old resolutions, such as exercising regularly and practicing healthy eating habits, have continued into this year’s resolutions as well. But now that we have had a taste of the new year, I think it is safe to say we might be falling back on the habits we wanted to build and have been wanting to build for a very long time. As a new writer wanting to one day become a published author, I was feeling compunctious knowing I had not written anything since the year had started. Hence the article! I aim today to figure out why we tend to give up and how we can work toward goal completion.
At the start of the new year, or rather the days leading up to it, we are pumped with excitement. We are highly optimistic about achieving our resolutions. New year, new me! But as the days pass by, the enthusiasm starts to fade away, and we start lagging on our goals. To assume that we should never set goals when we are overly excited or optimistic is a safe bet because we look at what we want and not how to get there. However, if we can change our strategy, we might be able to help our optimistic selves.
For example, if I were to say my resolution this year would be to publish a book, I could set tiny milestones leading up to goal completion.
Goal: Publish a book
Subgoals:
- Choose between Fiction & Non-Fiction
- If Fiction, choose the genre
- Decide what you aim to achieve out of it
- Define the protagonist
- Write the log-line
- Write the dramatic question
- Write Chapter 1
and so forth.
When we define a subgoal, it guides us in the direction of our goal. With each tiny achievement, we tend to get motivated to complete the next. By continuing the process, we would have achieved our main goal. As compared to defining a single goal and then waiting for inspiration to strike. Another motivation factor could be defining rewards at the end of certain milestones. I could set a reward for myself after I complete ten chapters. The reward could be anything that has the potential to push me toward milestone completion.
I won’t say this is a fail-safe way to go about achieving our resolutions, but I do feel it has potential. After years of being unsuccessful at achieving all my goals by the end of the year, I feel it is high time I make a change in the way I approach it, and it begins here.
2023 Resolution: Set milestones for all 2023 goals!
Copyright © 2023 Sonika
