A New Twist on New Year's Resolutions

I don’t usually make New Year’s resolutions, in the past few years, I’ve been pretty happy with my life.
And though I’m still happy, I think that there’s room for improvement. There are things I can change about myself and my behavior that should improve not only the quality of my life, but who I am as a person. That’s a pretty powerful place to stand.

Now, I don’t think that making a single resolution is a good way to go about it for me. Resolving to be  kinder, return e-mails, eat less junk, be on time, be more humble…I could go with any one of these, but nothing about them motivates me; in fact it seems like I would become my own nagging wife.

But while I was reading tweets, I came upon something that might work for me (and yes, I know this post is beginning to sound like an infomercial, but I promise I’m not trying to sell you anything. ) It comes from Chris Brogan. The way it works is that rather than making a resolution, you use three "targets" to guide your actions. Chris picked “Ask. Do. Share.” in 2006, and  “Seek. Frame. Build. Bridge.” in 2007. His explanation for choosing those is here. If you don't want to click over, here's his explanation of how it might work:

If you want to try the process, it works something like this: think of how you want to be successful in 2009. Then, try to think in even broader terms. Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on. Meaning, don’t think as much “I want to lose 50 pounds and get back into my high school pants.” Try thinking “Fitness means I’ll be able to cover more ground.” From there, you can say “ground” might be your word. And then, when you look at that  word, you see how it can open you to even more meanings.

“Ground” can remind you to get fit so you can cover more ground. It can mean to be “grounded,” like someone who feels calm and at rest.Look for three words that will help you frame your challenges and opportunities for 2009. Don’t think about where you are this exact moment. If you’re without a job, setting a goal in 09 to get a job might not be very useful. Once you’ve got the job, then what? Instead, you could think about setting the goal of “Alignment,” where you ask yourself, “does this fit with everything else I intend for myself in this year?”Try setting your three words far out on the horizon, but such that they can lead you to your goals every day. Meaning, can you use the same word to get you started, but have it still be relevant when you’re almost at the big goal?

I think might mine for 2010 might be : Smart. Share. Celebrate.

Smart. Work Smart. Be Efficient. Get more done by doing less. Eat smart .Exercise Smart. Get the fuel and exercise you need to have the life you want, leave the excess for others. Think about living your promises before you make them. Saying “yes” costs time.

Share. Give love, laugh. Time to yourself, family ,friends. Share experience- both person to person (by actually spending time with other people) and through writing and conversation. Help. Contribute. Get back to people who call. Answer e-mails promptly.

Celebrate.  What Works. Spread Good.  Celebrate others. Learn from others. Champion others. Help others. Together we are richer than alone, don’t be alone.

I still have a few hours to go before I’m going to commit to mine, then maybe I’ll tattoo them to my right hand in 18 pt font so I don’t need reading glasses to see them.

Now the idea behind coming up with these words is to let them guide your actions. Chris made a schema to show what the paths toward achieving goals might look like:

I think putting my targets into this chart will take some work, but I’m going to see if I can figure out how to do it. I'm hoping that at this time next year I'll be as proud of how I've lived as of what I've accomplished.

Comments

[Audra]

Nice idea!!!!! Mine might be concentrate, deliver and pay attention!