The Key to Resolutions: Make them Achievable and Challenging

Resolutions, goals, plans, aspirations, intentions, aims, designs, whatever you call them, they should all have two things in common; they should be challenging and capable of being achieved. It does me no good to set the following resolutions: “I will get my basketball skills on the same level as LeBron James in 2021.” Or “I will surpass Elon Musk in net worth this year.” Or “I will run 20 miles every day for 365 days straight.” No matter how much time and effort I put into any of those three noble goals, I will never achieve them. So why make them? All I would “achieve” with any of them would be failure and then depression.

Your resolution, aside from being achievable, should also be challenging. It does me no good to set the following goals: “I will walk at least 50 steps every day in 2021.” Or “I will only gain 10 pounds this year.” Or “I will limit my daily screen time to just six hours.” For me, those aren’t resolutions, they’re inevitable and, thus, not challenging in the least. For all of us, we’ve got to find a Goldilocks New Year’s resolution, one that’s just the right fit for you. One that will require a good deal of work, willpower, dedication and some outside assistance from family and/or friends, but is, by all metrics, achievable.

Inscribed on the Greek Temple of Apollo at Delphi were three aphorisms (general truths or principles): “know thyself, nothing to excess,” and “surety brings ruin.” While all three are brilliant in their brevity, we are concerned with the first of the three for the subject of this post. “Know thyself,” two words that have so much meaning, especially when it comes to making plans for your future. You have got to determine what is both challenging and achievable for your 2021 resolution, should you choose to make one. If you don’t know yourself as well as the Greeks would like, ask your friends and family members for help in making your resolution. “Hey honey, do you think I’d be able to train for and run an entire 10K this year in under 45 minutes?” “You guys know me, I’ll be able to go vegetarian this year, right?”

Use the answers you receive to help tailor your resolution to your needs, but ultimately the decision is up to you. You’re the one who must determine if the resolution is even worth achieving in the first place. You must ensure that it’s consequential, that it has real meaning to you and is not something of little value like resolving to stop belching so often or resolving to listen to more rap music during 2021. Your resolution should, in some small way, make you a better person, make you a healthier person, or both.

So, prior to blurting out your 2021 resolution to all and sundry, take some time to think abut yourself, who you are and what you are capable of (we should probably do this on a regular basis anyway). Then, think about a flaw you might have or a health issue you’ve been thinking about addressing. Next, combine the two thoughts…what would you like to fix about yourself and are you capable of doing so? If the honest answer is “no,” then scale back your goal(s) until you get to a qualified “yes.” And by “qualified” I mean “Yes, I can achieve it, but it’s going to take a lot of work.” Nothing worth achieving comes easily.

Happy New Year and best wishes for you and yours in 2021.