I am not really a fan of New
Year's resolutions or goals.
I feel like that brings about a pressure that is unneeded when the
real goal is personal growth and general life improvement in some
way. Instead, I like the term mile stones. I also believe that goals
without a larger vision will struggle to take root. Without a vision,
why bother with goals anyways?
I feel like people use goals in place
of vision. If life is a journey, let's use the analogy of a road
trip. If I am traveling to Mount Rushmore from Portland, Oregon, I
know what Mount Rushmore looks like, and
my vision is to see it in person. With a little bit of pre-planning I
even know exactly where it is at. So I pack up, hop in my car and
drive off. As I am traveling, I can only see so far ahead. Clarity
will vary at times. Sometime I see vast miles of
landscape, other points along the way I only see the semi in front of
me. But that doesn't stop me from driving, from traveling. I have a
vision of where I want to go and where I am at now. That
vision feeds my journey. If I run out of gas, or get a flat tire, or
perhaps I take a wrong turn, it doesn't matter. I am delayed, but the
vision is the same, and I'll hit my milestones sooner or later.
Without the vision though, none of that would happen. I would still
be right where I was at, sitting at my computer in Portland, Oregon,
denying myself the experiences and rewards that come from any
journey.
An example of resolutions would be
setting a goal for a certain weight limit. It is an all-right idea if
it motivates you. However, what happens after you hit that weight
goal? Do you then quit caring? Set a new goal? Is the goal your
weight or your health? I feel by building a habit of health, benefits
like weight loss will be a natural byproduct of your
change in focus, a focus brought about by vision.
Hyper-focusing on a number on a
scale creates a tunnel-vision on just that, and blinds you to
other avenues you should or could have taken to achieve the results
you wanted. A narrow focus also means a lack of flexibility and an
increased likely-hood of failure. Repeated failure will then often
lead to discouragement and frustration. There are just too many
negative aspects about goal setting for me to want to partake in it.
It works for some, but by taking the vision & journey route
you'll meet less resistance, and find more forgiveness for
imperfection.
Let’s
take the example kicking a tobacco habit. Having kicked a tobacco
habit myself, I know the struggle. I actually quit many times. It was
not uncommon to hear someone say “You’re quitting again? Good for
you!” Each time I attempted to quit, it felt like the habit grew.
If you walk into the new year with a goal to stop smoking or chewing,
you'll probably fail. (Sorry!) However, if you have vision of
personal health, start with eating better. The better food choices
will make getting a cardio workout easier. When you’re working hard
to build up cardio, you'll find that the allure of tobacco just isn’t
there. Eventually, by focusing on health in general, you'll erode the
foundation of the tobacco addiction. For me, the motivation was
financial and health. I couldn't believe the amount of money I was
spending on it. Combine that with my increased health awareness due
to some minor health issues I was experiencing, and better stress
management (exercise!), the allure of tobacco subsided.
Last year, I decided to have a theme
for 2017 instead of a list of goals. The theme for 2017 was getting a
solid handle on life by taking care of my daily responsibilities,
essentially becoming more functional as a member of society. It
sounds simple, but I was a rather dysfunctional individual. Now that
my life is arguably a lot more stable, I find myself walking into
2018 with a new theme. The theme for 2018 will be building a
health-driven life style,
starting with physical health. I believe there are four pillars of
health: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. All of these will
be a priority, but by having physical health as a priority, the
others should fall place in life much easier. The And since I no
longer have the stress of a borderline dysfunctional life, I should
experience less resistance in building a gym habit (and other
habits!).
