Disclaimer: I have no idea what I’m talking about, so take everything written below with a grain of salt.
Apparently New Years resolutions are out but New Years goals and intentions are in.
At first glance, these words may seem to be verbatim. Their subtleties, however, reveal a shift in the way people are thinking about personal growth and development.
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“New Years Resolutions” have almost become a joke at this point. The most common trope is the gym; who hasn’t experienced the phenomenon of a packed gym in January which inevitably reaches homeostasis come February 1st?
The words “goal” and “intention” offer a much more realistic way of approaching personal growth. Whereas “resolutions” are fixed in the moment they are set, goals and intentions are meant to be flexible and aim for longevity. Not surprisingly, it is a much tougher mental exercise to establish goals and intentions.
Let’s say someone decides that their “New Years resolution” is to avoid fried food. If they eat some fried calamari on January 5th, they might give up on the resolution altogether. I mean, I would…
If set correctly, goals and intentions won’t be as easy to discard. Their success, however, is dependent on introspection and planning.
Goals
As some might already know, the best goals are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. Although there is no room for an “F” in that acronym (SMARTF?), I would argue that “flexible” is another crucial aspect of a solid goal.
If our friend (the fried food fanatic) replaces their hapless resolution with a SMART goal, they might start off by removing onion rings from their diet. Once the onion rings have been successfully eliminated, they might alter their goal to avoid a different kind of fried delicacy. Although the overarching idea is to eventually avoid fried food altogether, breaking this “resolution” into smaller steps helps keep things manageable. This in turn makes it less tempting to give up at the first sign of a set-back.
In terms of flexibility, if onion rings are too difficult to give up right away, the original goal can be tweaked rather than abandoned. Who knows, maybe fried okra is easier to give up.
Intention
The way I see it, whereas goals are set to achieve measurable results, intention represents the mindset behind those goals.
Basically, intention fuels our goals.
A 2020 Tesla Model S (priced at a modest 81k) might have everything a driver desires in terms of luxury, autonomous technology and sustainability. But GUESS WHAT? Without its source of fuel (electricity, in case anybody spent 2019 under a rock) it’s as useless as a 1999 Dodge Caravan Minivan with an empty gas tank.
Even the most meticulously curated goals become useless without intention.
Why does our Fried Fanatic want to change their diet? Maybe they had a health scare and want to lower their blood pressure. Maybe they’ve spent too much of their paycheck on deep-fried Twinkies. Maybe their acne is flaring up from the excess oil.
(My example is shallow and not touching in the slightest, I know. Bear with me.)
A goal will only be as strong as the intention behind it. If you don’t know why you wan’t to change something in your life, chances are you won’t be motivated to work towards that goal for long.
Although this probably sounds obvious, it can be pretty difficult to determine what our intentions are.
Whether we realize it or not, all of us walk around with many voices in our heads (and we aren’t all schizophrenics). As we navigate our lives, we process the opinions of everyone we are confronted with. Some opinions are easily discarded, but others, not so much — particularly, the opinions of those we love and care about.
It can be extremely difficult to untangle what you truly want from what [you think] others want for you.
This is where introspection kicks in. If you are serious about achieving some sort of personal growth, take some time to think about what you hope the change will bring you.
Not your best friend, not your significant other, not your parents. YOU.
Changing is hard, and guess what– your loved ones won’t be doing the heavy lifting.
If you’ve set goals that are SMART and are still having trouble feeling motivated, try reevaluating the intention behind those goals.
And remember, there is nothing wrong with tweaking your goals as you get a clearer idea of what you are hoping to achieve.
Happy 2020 everyone!
Almost Linear 