Why Making New Year's Resolutions is a Good Thing

Cue every blog, vlog, or social media post that includes the topic of New Year’s resolutions that has shown up somewhere over the last few days. And although this blog does just that, it’s less about what your resolution should be and more about why it’s important to make one at all.

If you do a simple search for the word resolution on dictionary.com, you’ll see that it’s a decision or determination to do something. As you look back on what the previous year brought and step into the New Year, channel your inner Tony Robbins and keep in mind, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.”

Setting a Goal Provides Direction

Having a goal gives you a clearer focus on what the destination is, even if the proposed path has to adjust en route. You will find yourself more motivated to reach the goal and more careful in how you make decisions along the way.

Setting a Goal Gives You a Clean Slate

Having a goal gives you the opportunity to hit the reset button, which fits the New Year rather perfectly. What’s better than a revival or new beginning to kick off the road to making yourself better personally and/or professionally?

Setting a Goal Gives You Purpose

Instead of just going through the motions, you have a reason to take action and work towards what you desire. Before setting a goal, you reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, and what you want to accomplish. That’s where you find your purpose.

Setting a Goal Gives You Control

There might be things that happen that fall outside of your control as you are working towards a goal, but it’s important to remember that you are in control of not only how you work to reach the goal, but how you react when things don’t go exactly as planned.

Which brings us to…

Setting a Goal Challenges You

If your path to reaching a goal comes without bumps or valleys, you might not reap the true reward of growth and satisfaction. The act of setting a goal itself is where the challenge begins, but the obstacles you face as you work towards the goal is where the sweat and growth occur. So, although challenges can be… well, challenging… they can make the end result more worth it.

Setting a Goal Overcomes Procrastination

When there’s a goal to reach, focus is heightened, and focus is procrastination’s kryptonite. Distractions creep in when there isn’t a clear path of what you need to accomplish, meaning you’ll waste less time on unproductive activities.

Think about what the alternative would be if you didn’t set a goal. You don’t get the opportunity to better yourself, you lack direction, your slate remains slightly dirty, your sense of purpose isn’t as clear, you aren’t in complete control, you don’t get the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge, and you might still hold the title of procrastinator.

Don’t overcomplicate your New Year’s resolution. Identify one goal you want to reach this year, no matter how big or small, and commit to taking an action every day to attain that goal. Following these steps will allow you to move towards what you want in life with plenty of determination and, no doubt, future success.