Advice For Writing New Year's Resolution: Don't Set Yourself Up For Failure

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If you’re the type of person who drafts new year’s resolutions it’s important not to set yourself up for failure from the outset. Don’t put undue expectations on yourself. Don’t amass a list longer than a Tolstoy novel. Focus on personal growth rather than events and milestones mostly out of your control. This is a basic summary of the advice presented by self and relationship coach Jennifer Twardowski in a great piece re-published over at the Huffington Post.

Twardowski explains that when she was 18 her list of resolutions was a long collection of general goals rather than specific objectives for the coming year:

“These things were never a part of my New Year’s resolutions. Rather they were on my list of general ‘goals’ with this attitude of ‘If I get there, great. If not, then it was only just an idea after all.'”

Saddling yourself with unwieldy expectations can slow you down and threaten your happiness. It’s similar to the myth of multitasking; it’s good to be ambitious but it’s foolish to think you can juggle too much. That’s why Twardowski suggests compiling a short list of simple goals. Her three main guidelines for success are:

“How would I like to grow and become better?”

“What is something that I’d like to do that I haven’t been doing (or do more of)?”

“Keep the list short!”

Twardowski has decided to practice yoga regularly, write a book, be nourished through food, and dedicate more time and energy to meditation and prayer. Simple goals, easy to track, certainly not overwhelming. She’s carved a navigable path toward a year of self-improvement with only four bullet points. As far as resolutions go, that’s pretty darn good.

Take a look at her full article (linked below) for more specifics on how to draft a strong list of resolutions.