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December 10, 2007

It's time to start thinking about those New Year's resolutions

MyGoals.com today announced its annual predictions on resolutions people are expected to make during the 2008 New Year's season.

MyGoals.com, a Web site for setting and reaching personal and professional goals, bases its predictions on the current year's third-quarter goal-setting activity. According to an anonymous, random sample of goals people have set at the site, this year's New Year's resolutions are expected to break down as follows:

Health & Fitness (at 28 percent) is the number-one category for people's resolutions. Of that percentage, weight loss is the number-one most common resolution, with most people wanting to lose 10 pounds and a lot of people wanting to "fit into my favorite jeans." Five percent of Health & Fitness goals were related to getting more sleep, which is an increase over previous years.

At 21 percent, the category of career goals comes in second. Actual goals people have recently set in this category include creating an independent successful private practice, becoming an architect, starting a jewelry business and finding a satisfying career.
This year, entrepreneurship jumped from 20 percent to 30 percent of career-related goals, surpassing those related to new jobs and promotions.

At 15 percent, personal growth and interest goals are tied for third with personal finance goals.

Actual goals people have recently set in the personal growth category include reading one book a week, learning more about wine, mentoring a child, keeping a journal, and updating a wardrobe.

Actual goals people have recently set in the finance category include establishing a stock portfolio, creating passive income, hiring an accountant, brown-bagging lunch 3 days a week, and paying off debt.

Other resolutions for 2008 are predicted to be better management of time, improving family relationships, making home improvements, increasing education and training levels, and taking a vacation.

According to myGoals.com, there is a right way and a wrong way to make a New Year's resolution. Here are a few tips from the experts to make sure your resolution makes a difference:

1. Create a plan -- Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you a) What to do next and b) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create your plan now -- If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely. It is imperative that you begin creating your plan immediately.

3. Write down your resolution and plan -- myGoals.com exists to help you formulate a plan, which we then help you stick to. But even if you don't use myGoals.com, commit your resolution and plan to writing someplace, such as a notebook or journal.

4. Think "year round," not just New Year's -- Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. myGoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing email reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task.

5. Remain Flexible -- Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.

Posted by Karen Bordeleau at 12:38 PM to Christmas 2007 | Permalink

December 10, 2007

It's time to start thinking about those New Year's resolutions

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