Get Smart

I want to be thinner.

I want to drink less.

I want to be a little richer.

It’s that time of year when we make promises that we hope to keep but aren’t really prepared to put work in to make happen. These three above are among the most popular New Year’s Resolutions and many people will be telling themselves and maybe others on Tuesday that they will be thinner, more sober and richer in 2013 than they were in 2012.

But you know what? Lots of these people will be the same ones who made the same resolutions at the same time last year. And the year before. And the year before. Because most New Year’s Resolutions don’t work.

Or at least, ones like those above don’t.

To start with they begin with ‘I want’. This allows a sneaky little suggestion of failure. We want, we hope, we wish it would happen but those words don’t involve any work on the wanter’s part. We’re much more likely to succeed if we say ‘I will’ do something rather than ‘I want to’ do it. That would help, but most of all we have to get SMART with our resolutions.

It’s an old business mnemonic but it really does work. You’re much more likely to stick to your resolutions if they’re SMART.

Significant – What’s the point of making a pointless resolution?  ‘I will walk to the pub every day’ is no big deal for me as I’m able-bodied and the pub is just thirty-four steps from my house. ‘I will run to the pub in the next village, not stop for a drink and then run home’ would be much more of a challenge.

Measurable – ‘I will get fit’ is a common resolution but it’s so fluffy and vague that it’s unachievable. Define ‘fit’. Is it being able to run a mile without stopping? Or losing a stone in weight? Or being able to button up those skinny jeans that you bought on a whim in last year’s sale but now sit at the back of the wardrobe mocking you every time you pull on an old baggy pair instead? If you can’t measure a goal how do you know if you've achieved it?

Achievable – there’s no point in me saying ‘I will win an Olympic 100 meters sprint medal in 2013’. No I won’t. I’m forty-seven, fat and have no sprint training. And most importantly, there are no Olympic games in 2013. But I could resolve to gradually build up to being able to run a mile.

Realistic – ‘I will sprout wings and fly around the building’ might be something that I’d love to do but with the best will in the world it ain’t gonna happen. Stretch yourself, but know the limits of human ability.

Time-specific – ‘I will lose six pounds in weight’ isn’t a good resolution either. It gives the resolver permission to pig out all year in the hope that a starvation diet in the autumn might achieve the goal. ‘I will lose at least half a pound every month all year long’ is much more like it.

So have a great New Year and a brilliant 2013, and if you’re making any resolutions just remember that you have a much greater chance of keeping them if you make them SMART. Me? I just have three resolutions.

I want to be thinner.

I want to drink less.

I want to be a little richer.

© Shaun Finnie 2012