My Reflection: Goal Setting vs. Resolutions

I've questioned whether setting goals and making resolutions for the new year are the same thing. How is it possible that resolutions are more difficult to follow than setting and achieving goals? Are the myths associated with resolutions accurate? Why does one make mental resolutions but celebrate an achievement unrelated to them? Resolutions are a complete waste of time if they simply don't work.

I find myself smiling as I pen down these thoughts since, to me, they are not simply thoughts but my reality.?

Typically, I start making a mental list of the significant tasks or goals I've completed at the end of the year. Simple tasks like getting a new phone, moving houses, finishing courses, or updating my wardrobe could be included in this list. Though each of these seems trivial and unimportant and has no connection to my year-start resolution (I presume a failure?), they have all been subconsciously noted as accomplishments.

It's the beginning of a new year, and I'm on the verge of giving up on making resolutions. Last year, I had no resolutions, but I did write down a few key result areas (aka KRAs), which had been introduced to me by a mentor, Dotun Kolade . The KRA approach focuses on segmenting goals into tasks and activities that can be tracked and evaluated.

You may be wondering if I made any significant improvements in achieving my KRAs before the end of 2022. Lol, I think your hunch is just as good as mine! Yes, I did.

The changes I intend to make to my goal-setting for this year are listed below, along with some of the things I did differently last year.

• I focused on setting SMART(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) objectives for myself and worked hard to achieve them.
• My objectives were specific, broken down into smaller tasks, and written down with timelines.
• I've created a new template that is more akin to the balanced scorecard as a guide to help me track my performance and advancement.?
• I intend to get an accountability partner to help me evaluate my progress.
• Finally, my goals for the year are fluid!!! I intend to adjust them as the year progresses.

I can confidently state from experience that setting SMART goals is more about creating clear targets to work towards than setting resolutions, which are more about having an overarching expectation of what you intend to accomplish.

Let me know what you think about setting goals vs. having resolutions! Are resolutions a waste of time? What methods have you employed to set goals for 2023!!!