Have you ever been burned by a new year’s resolution?

I feel like I’ve been consuming way too much social media lately. I always do at this time of year. The excitement of the New Year is building up as we anticipate that the coming year will be better than the one before it. But this new year won’t be any different if you aren’t.

It’s not an unfamiliar cycle. 

Even though I didn’t get to what I accomplished today, I have an abundance of hope that I’ll be able to get it all done tomorrow. 

Even though I didn’t get in the shape I wanted this year, it will be so easy to tackle a workout regiment and diet when the new year starts. 

In Michael Hyatt’s book, Your Best Year Ever, he cites that less than 10% of new years resolutions end up being successful. 

I have a great friend from college who has taken to social media to troll his friends in the last few years to call out those weak new year’s resolutions. Each month on the 1st, he asks “It’s March, how are those new years resolutions coming?” It’s hilarious and depressing all at the same time. 

If this has been your experience as well, you may feel burned when it comes to setting new goals. So burned in fact that you feel like you’d rather not try at all.

But I’m here to tell you that even if you’ve failed in the past, you can still set goals for yourself this year that you can accomplish.

What’s Your Identity?

What you’re probably looking for is a change in your identity. 

You won’t be able to lose weight if you can’t stand the food you feel like you’re supposed to eat.

You won’t get in shape if the workout that you do is just a grind to get through.

You won’t pay off your debt this year if you’re convinced that you’re bad with money and that there’s no way you could get on a budget.

But what if your identity was that of a runner? You love to run. Sure you may not feel like lacing up your shoes before the run, but you’re always glad when you go.

What if your identity is someone who loves to eat good food that makes them not only feel better and more energized, but food that helps them keep trim as well? Everyone loves eating bad food sometimes, but you’ve reached the point where eating healthy just makes you feel better and you wouldn’t dream of eating another way.

What if you knew that you could reach your goals with your money this year, just by being intentional about how you’re going to spend it? You’re confident in your ability to handle your money, and you know that you can meet the goals you set for yourself. That’s the identity of someone who handles their money well.

Your identity and the actions you take are more important than your results.

What you need to do this year is to focus on the actions you take. Not the results you want. 

Let’s say you want to be a runner. If you want to start the new year off right, focus on getting out the door 3-5 times this week. 

It doesn’t even matter if you walk or if you run. 

It doesn’t matter how many miles you put in. 

It doesn’t if you lose a single pound. 

Become a runner. A runner is someone who gets out there and runs. And don’t feel like you aren’t a runner simply because you’re walking more than you think you should. Jeff Galloway, who invented the Walk/Run method believes that all runners should add walking segments into their running, even if you’re one of the fastest marathon runners. 

Then, imagine how far you could get this year if your identity matched up with the goals you have for yourself?

You may lose no weight in January, but by becoming a runner, you run your first race in 2021 and end up losing a lot of weight as you get better and better. 

Those results won’t come fast, but in December next year, you’ll be so glad you started this week. 

You should be setting goals that are exciting.

Otherwise, what’s the point?

We shouldn’t be torturing ourselves with goals that we hate. 

Sure, you may not want to cut back on your spending, but the thought of being debt freedebt-freeng a trip to celebrate it is the most exciting thing you can imagine right now.

Maybe you don’t feel like getting off the couch to do a workout, but because you’re doing a dance workout(something you actually enjoy doing), you never mind it once you get going.

Your goals should be exciting. They should be something you want to do.

We simply have too many options for achieving the same goal for you to hate it the whole time you’re doing it.

If you hate this workout, choose something you enjoy doing. There are a million choices out there and you’re going to love doing at least one of them. 

Use the SMARTER goal framework.

You may have heard of creating a SMART goal before, but Michael Hyatt went one step further and created the SMARTER goal framework. He added two important letters at the end.

If you want to set a goal this year, make sure that you’re using this framework because it really ensures that the goal you set for yourself is one you actually want to keep.

Make sure that your goals are:

1. Specific- Say exactly what you’re going to do. Ex. You want to pay off all of your debt.
2. Measurable-I can measure whether or not this goal was completed. Did you pay off your debt? Did you run the race?
3. Actionable-You can take actual action to achieve your goal. You can run 3 times a week. You can pay $500 a month towards your debt.
4. Risky-Go for it. If you create a goal that’s too safe, it won’t be exciting. You should shoot for the moon. Don’t be afraid of falling short. Rise to the challenge.
5. Time Keyed-I will pay off my debt my October of 2021. I will run my first half marathon in November. Give yourself a deadline.
6. Exciting- If it isn’t inspiring, it’s not worth it. What goal, if you achieved it this year, puts a smile on your face? Don’t set a goal because you think you should. Do it because it is so incredibly inspiring and exciting.
7. Relevant- Is this something that you’re able to commit to right now? In 2020, I made a big commitment to writing and creating my blog. Since I have a very busy schedule at work and two small kids at home, my running goal ended up taking a back seat. I like to write early in the morning before my family gets up. It would be unrealistic for me to also have that running goal at the exact same time. I will come back to it, but right now I’ve had another goal that’s been more important to me. 

So don’t be afraid to set an important goal this year. Set yourself up to actually achieve your goal by focusing on the actions you take, the identity to take on, and in the end, make sure that it’s something you actually want to be doing.

See you in the new year!

Jared