My fiancé is like your old boyfriend. In the ten years we've been together he's gotten me over onto his side of thinking. Now I understand that even outlandish goals are achieved by taking small boring steps forward. He says: don't tell me the end result. Tell me the first thing you need to do to get there. During the past few years this advice has helped me through many periods of low motivation. What's the first thing I need to do? The very first thing is to open my laptop. Then I open the writing app. One foot in front of the other.
I've never made resolutions before but this year I made one for fulfilment, one for personal growth, one for how I'm going to change my approach to parenthood, and one for my relationship. I have a vision for what success will look like if the year goes fine, just okay, and a vision of what overwhelming success would look like. The reason I never made them before is because I never was under any illusion that I'd manage to follow through, having been told all my life I'm so unreliable. This year I'm betting on myself, and have hope that I'm ready to hold myself accountable. Good luck to you with yours and happy new year!
this was EXACTLY what i needed to read before sitting down to write my 2023 resolutions. thank you. i usually get carried away with loftier aspirations like ‘read more,’ and therefore my lists always look the same year on year which can be pretty disheartening to see. so i’m going to try and make more actionable goals and focus on the daily momentum rather than the end goal. to the year of boring resolutions !!!!! <3
thank you for sharing this with us chloe! i read my list from previous years and came to the same conclusion as you! i hope you take time to notice all the promises you kept to yourself this year 🫶
Totally agree. I decided to pay off my credit card debt, around $2,500, which is really good and boring and I will definitely reap real rewards from that. Excellent article!
Small steps. I sing that song from that old stop-motion animated show, Santa Claus is Coming to Town “Put One Foot in Front of the Other” in my head. Change comes in small steps...
I’m not usually big on significant/weighty resolutions, but I do love the concept of a fresh start. So this year, my goal is to limit my canned soda water to two per day. It sounds silly, but soda water consumption has become such an out-of-control low-key extravagance in my life. I would say to myself and my husband, “if the worst habit I have in my life right now is drinking as many canned sparkling waters as I want, I’m doing pretty god damn good”. But also, I’ve realized they lose their value when they are limitless. I open them and walk away from them half-consumed. Later, I guzzle the warm half-flat liquid that remains but only on principle and not necessarily enjoyment. I produce more recycling than is reasonable for an environment-minded person. So...my 2023 resolution is two per day and otherwise I drink tap water. And you know something? I love them even more when I treasure them❤️ Happy new year to all!
My resolutions the past few years have been todo lists with pretty basic things like “go to the dentist two times, go to PCP once, go to gyno once, pay taxes, change your car oil, get a car wash, etc.” and each year I try to add on 1-2 things. This year I added open a new savings account and get a haircut every 3 months. These seem like really obvious things but there’s been many years where I didn’t go to the dentist twice or get a car wash, etc. and I feel like writing them down as goals helps me prioritize them and remember that staying healthy/happy/financially stable requires little things throughout the year rather than one big change.
My fiancé is like your old boyfriend. In the ten years we've been together he's gotten me over onto his side of thinking. Now I understand that even outlandish goals are achieved by taking small boring steps forward. He says: don't tell me the end result. Tell me the first thing you need to do to get there. During the past few years this advice has helped me through many periods of low motivation. What's the first thing I need to do? The very first thing is to open my laptop. Then I open the writing app. One foot in front of the other.
I've never made resolutions before but this year I made one for fulfilment, one for personal growth, one for how I'm going to change my approach to parenthood, and one for my relationship. I have a vision for what success will look like if the year goes fine, just okay, and a vision of what overwhelming success would look like. The reason I never made them before is because I never was under any illusion that I'd manage to follow through, having been told all my life I'm so unreliable. This year I'm betting on myself, and have hope that I'm ready to hold myself accountable. Good luck to you with yours and happy new year!
betting on yourself is the most beautiful resolution i’ve ever heard yes i’m so happy for you.
« don't tell me the end result. Tell me the first thing you need to do to get there »
is so good!!!!
this was EXACTLY what i needed to read before sitting down to write my 2023 resolutions. thank you. i usually get carried away with loftier aspirations like ‘read more,’ and therefore my lists always look the same year on year which can be pretty disheartening to see. so i’m going to try and make more actionable goals and focus on the daily momentum rather than the end goal. to the year of boring resolutions !!!!! <3
thank you for sharing this with us chloe! i read my list from previous years and came to the same conclusion as you! i hope you take time to notice all the promises you kept to yourself this year 🫶
Totally agree. I decided to pay off my credit card debt, around $2,500, which is really good and boring and I will definitely reap real rewards from that. Excellent article!
Small steps. I sing that song from that old stop-motion animated show, Santa Claus is Coming to Town “Put One Foot in Front of the Other” in my head. Change comes in small steps...
https://youtu.be/OORsz2d1H7s
I’m not usually big on significant/weighty resolutions, but I do love the concept of a fresh start. So this year, my goal is to limit my canned soda water to two per day. It sounds silly, but soda water consumption has become such an out-of-control low-key extravagance in my life. I would say to myself and my husband, “if the worst habit I have in my life right now is drinking as many canned sparkling waters as I want, I’m doing pretty god damn good”. But also, I’ve realized they lose their value when they are limitless. I open them and walk away from them half-consumed. Later, I guzzle the warm half-flat liquid that remains but only on principle and not necessarily enjoyment. I produce more recycling than is reasonable for an environment-minded person. So...my 2023 resolution is two per day and otherwise I drink tap water. And you know something? I love them even more when I treasure them❤️ Happy new year to all!
My resolutions the past few years have been todo lists with pretty basic things like “go to the dentist two times, go to PCP once, go to gyno once, pay taxes, change your car oil, get a car wash, etc.” and each year I try to add on 1-2 things. This year I added open a new savings account and get a haircut every 3 months. These seem like really obvious things but there’s been many years where I didn’t go to the dentist twice or get a car wash, etc. and I feel like writing them down as goals helps me prioritize them and remember that staying healthy/happy/financially stable requires little things throughout the year rather than one big change.
yes one plant-based meal a day is much more realistic than going fully vegan! i hope everyone can put a bit less pressure on themselves!