I’ve never been very good about resolutions, making them or keeping them. It’s not because I don’t like have goals. I love having goals. But I hate setting myself up for failure, and I feel like that’s what most resolutions do. It’s always “start doing something really difficult.” Inevitably, you fall off the bandwagon sooner or later – probably well before the end of January – and then you give up and resume old habits. How many people have had New Years resolutions that actually resulted in lasting lifestyle change?
When I first stumbled upon Mission 101, also known as “101:1001” or “101 Things in 1001 Days,” I knew I had a good fit. 1001 days is a long time, nearly 3 years. Enough time so you can make several attempts at a goal, even if it involves something that only happens once a year. 101 things is a lot of things, which means there can be a nice mix of lighter and heavier goals. One of the goals I’m having the most fun with is pictured above, Travel A-Z. It’s not a goal that has a real point, just kind of a travel scavenger hunt that displays nicely. On the tough side, I have things like “Organize a family reunion” and “Complete the 30 day yoga challenge.” Will I complete all 101 goals? I’m a year in, and I don’t even have all 101 goals written! But at the end, I will have a list with many things crossed out, a testament to the productivity of that time period, even if I don’t finish everything. It’s also interesting to see which areas I do well in and which areas I completely neglect.
So what was that about resolutions setting people up to fail? At work, when we write our commitments, we have to make them SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely. I find this to be really annoying when having to turn vague tasks at work into SMART commitments, but it actually makes sense when it comes to Mission 101. “Lose weight” isn’t a good goal because how do you define when you’ve achieved it? Timely seems like a given because we’ve already got the 1001 days thing, but I take it a step further and add a general rule: no continuous goals. Anything that would be continuous must be bounded by intervals of time.
For example: go to the gym 3x a week would be a continuous goal (and a common resolution!). I’d fail in a heartbeat and stop going to the gym completely. Bounding it by an interval of time (and an actual goal on my last Mission 101 list) would be: go to the gym 3x a week for a month. Some friends of friends started a project (now dead) called “2weeker,” based on the idea that it takes about two weeks of doing something for it to stick, if it’s going to stick. I don’t use 2 weeks – usually, I go with either a week or a month – but it’s the same principle. If I think it needs extra enforcement, my goal might read “eat vegetarian for a week 3x.” By making goals this way, it gives me plenty of chances to try to succeed, and even if I slip up, I can try again.
Everyone is motivated in different ways, and making a list of 101 goals isn’t for everyone. But I’d encourage you in your goals to set yourself up for success. Good luck with goals in this new year, whether it’s with weight loss, money saving, distance running, traveling, or whatever else. Here’s to making ourselves better, one goal at a time!
And if you’re curious, I keep track of my Mission 101 goals and progress on a separate blog.
~N
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