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Are you resolute?

We often make resolutions for ourselves, but not in the right way.

You see, when most people talk about New Year’s resolutions, they conflate a few things.

They say things like: “I want to become fluent in another language, lose 50 pounds, and make a million dollars.”

Sound familiar?

If you say that, you’re listing the totality of your dreams. In other words, you’re answering the question: “What do I want in order for me to live my ideal life?”

That’s not a resolution.

That’s a vision statement, i.e. a massive life overhaul.

A resolution – in my opinion – is not synonymous with a goal; it’s merely a promise to yourself to fulfill a goal.

So for the above vision statement, one goal could actually be to lose 50 pounds.

But there’s more to it, and it involves specificity.

We can’t just say that we have a goal. We have to take action to move towards that goal.

That’s where your resolution comes into play, but in order for it to actually mean something, the two have to be connected.

They go hand in hand.

So how do you approach all this?

Let me show you:

Step 1: Turns Your Dreams into Tangible Goals

The first thing to do is to take your vision statement and break it down into the different goals that it contains, so that you can actually follow through on them later on.

There’s likely a whole bunch of projects compiled into one, and without separating them, it’ll all be too overwhelming.

When you understand that, getting things done become a whole lot easier.

Step 2: Break Each Goal Down

Once you have separated the different goals, you have to break each of them down further and focus in.

For each of them, understand whether or not we’re looking at a short-term or long-term goal.

A lot of the time, we accidentally create long-term goals for ourselves (i.e. the ones that lean more towards dreams).

If you wanted to “become fluent in another language,” for example, that’s a good example of a big, long-term goal.

Could you achieve it in a year?

Sure, but it would require full immersion. A hour of practice a week wouldn’t get you there.

We have to match up the timeline with our current reality, so any long-term goal you have will have to be converted into a short-term goal.

What are the steps to get there, and what could you realistically achieve in a year?

That’s your timeline.

Step 3: Focus In Even More

Can you attack multiple goals at the same time? Yes, assuming you have the available resources.

That’s what this part is all about.

In many cases, however, you’ll have goals that’ll compete with each other for resources.

By resources, I mean your time, energy, money, and so on.

We never have unlimited resources, so we have to be mindful of how they are spent.

For the most part, you’re better off focusing on one at a time.

Start one and finish it before you start another, unless you have the resources and project management experience to pull them all off in tandem.

Step 3: Allocate Your Resources

One you have a focused, short-term goal nailed down (that fits within the span of a year), you can progress to the next step, which is to allocate your resources.

For the resource of time, when are you going to work on this?

Get specific.

For your energy, does the time slots match your energy cycles? Yes or no?

If you’re gonna work on something after work when you’re exhausted, it’s gonna take longer.

You have to decide on the ideal days and times to make it as easy as possible.

For your money, do you need to make an investment?

Do you need lessons? Can you afford those?

In order to achieve our goals, we need to understand the resources that they require, and actually allocate them (taking into account opportunity costs, of course).

Planning is key.

Step 4: Decide on Milestones & Progress-Tracking

When you have allocated the available resources and gotten specific, decide how you will measure your progress.

Like I stated in the December 2024 report, you have to check in with yourself throughout your project.

Doing it at the start and at the finish isn’t enough.

At the start, you haven’t gotten any momentum yet.

At the end, it’s too late. It’s over.

You need to have regular milestones, so you can adjust course throughout – just like when you’re driving to an appointment in a part of town you don’t know.

Turn on Waze, and figure out where to turn. And if you take a wrong turn, adjust – immediately.

Step 5: Take Action

If you’re serious about your goal, you have to commit.

This is where your resolution fits.

Now, you’re actually ready to make that promise to yourself.

You have a plan and the available resources, so that you can get to the finish line.

Be sure to craft your words carefully when making your resolution.

Words are powerful, and the stories we tell ourselves have meaning and energy.

If you do that, and then you follow through, you’ll be looking at the goal in the rear view mirror by year’s end without regrets.

Easy peasy.

So with that said, I'd love to know: Did you make a resolution this year?

Hit reply and let me know.

❤️

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1. ​Here are three ways to beat procrastination from Google's productivity expert. By Google.
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