I want to talk a little bit about the difference between Resolutions and Goals. In an ideal world, they’re the same thing when structured correctly. However, in the real world, they just aren’t anywhere near the same. Why is that? Every year it seems everyone including their brother-in-law’s hamster has some New Year’s Resolutions. So why are they all but forgotten before the end of January?

I believe the key is in how we perceive, formulate and plan Resolutions vs. Goals.

  1. Perception – We perceive Resolutions and Goals differently. Because so many have them and never do anything about them, Resolutions have become a bit of a joke. No one takes them seriously, precisely because no one takes them seriously. It’s a vicious circle too. Resolutions seem to be nothing more than the sort of well-intentioned excuse to fail. Didn’t exercise every day? It was only a resolution, so it doesn’t matter.
  2. Formulation – We don’t generally write down our Resolutions like we do our Goals. We say our New Year’s Resolution is to lose weight. OK. That should be the starting point, not the ending. How much? By when? Why? There’s no detail and no written reminder to even flesh out those details.
  3. Plan – Just as our formulation of our Resolutions tends to be vague, our plans are even more so! We might make a little progress at first by walking 30 minutes after dinner or going to the gym at work each morning. But without a definite plan, these are random events, even if they look consistent in the beginning. They’re random because there’s no real plan to keep doing them, just a “resolve” backed by a vague joke of an idea.

Goals though we tend to think of more seriously, even though not everyone who say they have goals takes their own seriously. For those that say they have Goals, but don’t write them down or make plans, I have news for you. You don’t have Goals. You have Resolutions.

We perceive Goals to be more concrete, more serious. They’re made up of more serious ideas and targets. They’re usually very specific and measurable. Using the weight loss example, if I have a Goal to lose  75 pounds at a rate of 1.5 pounds per week, that’s a pretty specific Goal and I know when I should reach it. It’s a night and day difference from Resolutions.

That leads me to how we formulate Goals. Most of us know to use the S.M.A.R.T. formula. Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Actionable, Realistic and Time-bound. There’s no doubt what we mean when we use this formula.

Finally, we plan for Goals. We plan to get up a little earlier each day and exercise a little longer until we hit that sweet spot of time and effort to jumpstart our day. We plan what we’re going to eat to be healthy. We plan what to do if something gets in the way, like oversleeping or even travelling. We plan ahead by having a workout bag ready to go each morning and any number of other things.

Goals are NOT Resolutions. Goals are real, concrete, believable and desirable. Resolutions are wishes, vague, not taken seriously and really not even something we want to do. They tend to be things we think we ought to do, because that’s what society tells us.