Rethink That Resolution, Part 2

By: Kenna Rathai, ACN member and VP of Public Relations at broadhead

Continuing Kenna’s resolution tips from last week, here are her three remaining tips.

Tip 3: Break goals into micro habits

This tip is all about taking those big, intimidating, lofty goals and slashing them into micro habits.

When a resolution is too big or too vague, it makes it easier for you to make up excuses for why you’re not going to do it. For example, say you resolve to read more. That’s a very scary, intimidating, and vague goal. To break it down into a micro habit, try reading for 45 minutes a day. If that’s too big, read a chapter every night. That may be too big, too.

Your goal could be more along the lines of, “I’m going to read a paragraph before bed every single night. That is a micro habit. That may sound small, but it’s called a micro habit for a reason. It’s supposed to be something so small that it almost feels ridiculous to do. But that’s the point. It’s supposed to feel achievable. It’s supposed to feel like something that you aren’t intimidated to do daily.

Tip 4: Evaluate your resolutions

Maybe you don’t like New Year’s resolutions because you do too many of them at the same time.

Evaluate your goal list. Ask yourself a few questions. Does this goal align with my values? Should I put this goal off for another time, or should I just get rid of it all together? If you’re in your office or a group of friends and you’re hearing all of them talk about their New Year’s resolutions, don’t panic. You don’t have to have a New Year’s resolution. It’s actually OK.

Tip 5: Consider the negative risks

No one talks about the potential risks or side effects of having goals. Harvard Business School published a research paper called “Goals Gone Wild.” What’s interesting here is that setting goals, especially around work, can wreak havoc if not applied appropriately. So unreasonable goals or ones that are too narrow or too ambitious can cause damage. There are psychological costs. You get into tunnel vision. And in the effort to hit those “capital G” goals, a lot of things may cost you in the long run.

Happy New Year, it’s not too late to set some goals!