Forget New Years Resolutions and Try Spring Forward goals

Intro

I’ve never kept a New Year resolution in my life. Never.

The clock strikes midnight, and I proclaim

“This year is going to be my year!”

You might say this this too. You renew the gym prescription, declare you’re doing dry January, and purchase that all-important juicer. Only it isn’t your year.

In fact, it’s barely your month. Three weeks into January, and it’s getting tough.

You’re tired, and you can’t be bothered to drive to the gym in the dark before work; you are sick of detox juices and instead are craving a nice glass of wine. Motivation is at an all-time low, and you decide that either this is too hard or I deserve a treat. Then you miss one day of a good habit, and one day turns to a week and so on.

Sound familiar? I know it does for me!

New Years vs Spring

I understand the sentiment behind using the new year as an opportunity for a fresh start, but in reality, I find it a difficult time of year to put into place new habits for the following reasons:

1. It’s cold, and it’s dark. I personally suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), so motivation is at an all-time low in winter anyway.

2. Who had any money left after Christmas to go out and do things? After all the socializing of the holidays behind us, friends and family aren’t as keen to meet up.

3. Winter is still dragging out ahead, and fun times and summer feel far off. Who fancies a run and a smoothie? Not me, pass the cookie jar.

Spring, on the other hand, feels like the real fresh start. Sunlight gives both the warmth and longer days to spend outside and gives us the energy to get back out there and do some activities.

With Spring comes new opportunities, especially this Spring! After so long spent in lockdown, limiting our own personal experiences and social connections, with the vaccination program well underway and the loosening of restrictions to look forward to, I'm sure you're bristling with ideas of how you might spend the upcoming summer.

Resolutions vs goals

They may sound similar, but there is a fundamental difference and a reason you may struggle to keep resolutions but can achieve goals.

Resolutions are a firm decision to do or not do something. To stop a bad habit or create a good one. There is no endpoint. They are ongoing.

Reasons they are difficult to keep:

1. While resolutions are important, they are difficult to keep because you’re in it for the long haul.

2. You get discouraged when you have a bad day or week and feel like you’ve somehow ruined all the hard work that you put in previously.

3. It’s all too easy to feel like you’re not achieving them and to give up.

Goals are desired outcomes or targets that you work to obtain. Goals have a precise endpoint, and you’ll know when you’ve achieved them.

Reasons they are a better alternative:

1. They may not always improve your habits in the long run, but they are wonderful self-esteem boosts and personal challenges to see what you can achieve.

2. Often, when you achieve one, it’s addictive, and you want to keep adding new goals.

3. They can also be a great way to measure improvement and progression by having lots of smaller goals to tick off on the way to a large goal.

How to Make Spring Forward Goals

This spring, instead of writing a list of resolutions, makes a list of goals instead.

These can be big or small, short-term or long-term. They can be whatever the hell you want! Be playful. This should be fun.

All too often, resolutions are about punishing ourselves for our failings. Stop smoking, drink less, go to bed earlier or exercise more.

How about a list of fun, inspiring things that you genuinely WANT to do and don’t just feel like you SHOULD do?!

Think of it as a mini bucket list for spring/summer this year. Try that new restaurant in town, finish couch to 5k, read that long book you’ve always wanted to, or visit your friend in another city. The options are endless.

And this list is fluid, not static. This list should never be a source of guilt for the things you didn’t do or couldn’t do. Feel free to add and take away as you go.

For example, for 2020, I had a grand list, and because of the pandemic, there were many things on the list that I couldn’t do even if I wanted to. The Half Marathon race was canceled; I couldn’t go on a road trip across the country to see my sister or organize or teach a weekend yoga retreat.

At first, this frustrated me, but then I accepted this and rolled them over to next year.

I then found some more manageable 2020 goals to replace them. I did NaNoWriMo during the lockdown, which I don’t think I would ever have the time for otherwise. I visited local beauty spots instead of traveling afar, and I created my first yoga Instagram challenge.

Use your list as a source of inspiration and a reminder of what you want for yourself this year.

They’re also great to keep as a little time capsule to see what you’ve achieved over the years and how your interests have changed and perhaps see patterns in your self-development.

Some tips to achieve your goals

1. The problem with resolutions is that they are often too vague, for example, “Learn Spanish.” How about instead having specific goals like “get a 30-day streak on a language app” or “sign up to a local class” or “go to my local conversation practice group to try it out.”

2. Break it down; if you’ve got a big goal like “run a marathon,” there are so many smaller goals to achieve along the way, the 5k, 10k, half marathon, for example. And if you find deadlines helpful (not everyone does), set one.

Often something that can be done at any time gets done at no time.

We're much more likely to make progress on goals that are broken into concrete and measurable actions, with some kind of accountability. This approach makes it easier to take action, plus it makes progress more obvious - which acts as positive reinforcement. - Gretchen Rubin

3. Ask for help. You don't have to do these by yourself, and it's often easier and more fun to get your friends or family involved! That cooking class might feel a lot less daunting if you've got someone to come with you, or it might be more fun to read that book if you've got someone to talk about it with.

Some ideas for Categories to put your goals into

• Health and Wellness
• Explore and try new things
• Learn and Grow
• Cultivate Relationships
• Work and personal projects

Final Thoughts

Like I said, I’ve never kept a New Year resolution in my life. Never.

But last year, I set myself for the first time a list of 20 goals that I wanted to achieve over the year, and I ticked off every single one of them.

There was a sweet simplicity of the sense of achievement and joy it gave me to check each one-off.

And it was also wonderful not only to be able to keep referring back to my list to see what fun things I still had to come, but I could look back satisfied at all the things I had achieved so far.

I’m so excited to make a start on this year’s list and for you to join me in making your own list and creating your own spring/summer adventure.

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading! Hearts and tips are always welcome and your support is very much appreciated.

Georgina Nelson. Traveller. Writer. Photographer. Yoga teacher.

Sh*t Happens — because the things that go wrong make the funniest stories.