When it comes to setting New Years' Resolutions—or goals in general—many people make one of two mistakes.
The FIRST error is to just write the whole idea off as culturally cliché or otherwise lame and therefore justify one's decision to ditch the process entirely.
The reasoning for such an abdication of personal responsibility usually falls under the umbrella excuse of: "Well, New Years' Resolutions never last beyond January anyway, so why try when I am just going to fail?"
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A long list of New Year's Resolutions
can prove counterproductive.
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The SECOND mistake involves the opposite extreme. It occurs when someone ambitiously and energetically sets out to undertake an unrealistically long (or impossibly difficult) list of goals. No matter how dedicated someone might be in the beginning of such an undertaking, burn-out inevitably ensues, causing them to abandon their mammoth quest. Such eager beavers forget that there is really only one way to eat an elephant (i.e. accomplish any big goal) and that is:
"One Bite at a Time"!
As regular readers of the SAL blog are well aware, self-action leaders consciously eschew extremes in every area of their lives. Rather than embrace excesses or deficiencies, they are always aiming at the "Happy Medium" or Golden Mean—a philosophical principle of virtuous living taught by none other than the great Greek thinker, Aristotle.
How might Aristotle approach the issue of goal-setting or New Years' Resolutions?
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Aristotle
384-322 B.C. |
While I cannot be sure of his exact answer, I feel pretty confident that it would go something like this: When setting goals, it is better to set easier, shorter, and fewer goals that you will realistically follow through on than it is to set harder, longer, or more goals that you are apt to give up on.
This is one of the reasons I have chosen to set only ONE New Year's Resolution for 2022. There is nothing wrong with setting multiple goals at a time. However, the shorter—and the more focused—your list is, the most likely you are to effectively achieve your goals. As such, if you do want to set multiple New Year's Resolutions, I would encourage you to limit your goals to THREE (3) or less.
REMEMBER: One goal set and achieved is worth infinitely more than a hundred goals set and discarded.
Truth be known, I have more weaknesses, shortcomings, imperfections and room for improvement than I can count on both hands and feet several times over. Like every other imperfect human being on this planet, I am a work-in-progress and will still have room to grow even if I live to be a hundred!
However, I know from personal experience—and from a lot of self-knowledge and self-awareness—that I don't have the time, energy, motivation, or desire to try and tackle everything (or even several things) at once. As such, I've thoughtfully considered what ONE area of my life could use the most help at this particular moment in time.
The answer to that question involves my PHYSICAL HEALTH.
The SAL Textbook, Volume I, introduces the concept of an Existential Octathlete. The idea behind this concept involves eight (8) different key areas of life growth that contribute to our overall (existential) growth. These eight life arenas include the following eight (8) domains of life:
- CONSTITUTIONAL (Personal and Familial Vision, Mission, Values, Standards, Goals, etc.)
- SPIRITUAL
- PHYSICAL
- MENTAL
- EMOTIONAL
- SOCIAL
- FINANCIAL
- MORAL
Of all these areas, the PHYSICAL arena is the area of my life that needs the most work.
While I go to the gym or otherwise workout an average of 4-6 times per week, I am still overweight.
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| I don't have a sweet tooth. I have 32 sweet teeth! |
I'm 6'1" with a small-boned, slender frame—an ectomorph and former semi-elite middle distance runner. My ideal weight range is #165 - #175 pounds. Right now, I am #200 pounds. I don't like the way I look or feel when I am twenty-five (25) pounds overweight. It is a drain on my energy and negatively impacts my self-image, personal identity as an athlete, and self-esteem as a professional who preaches Personal Leadership to his readers and trainees.
What led to my undesired weight gain? It's pretty simple really: Fast food, soft drinks, chocolate, ice cream, candy, etc.
The gap between where I want to be PHYSICALLY and where I actually am physically is as significant as it's ever been in my life. And as Hyrum W. Smith—author of The 3 Gaps principle and book—teaches, whenever there is a gap between where we are and where we want to be, we experience PAIN, and the only way to authentically alleviate that pain is to Close the Gap.*
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| My New Year's Resolution in 2022 is to lose #25 Pounds |
Therefore, my goal in 2022 is simple, but it will not be fast or easy. My goal is to lose twenty-five (25) pounds by January 1, 2023.
In the history of New Year's Resolutions, weight loss is perhaps the most common; it is probably also the most cliché in the sense that so many people so often fail in their resolution to actually lose the weight they desire to shed. In other words, I am in good company!
In order to approach this goal in both a serious and pragmatic way — so as to not end up another weigh-loss casualty and cliché mired in failure — it is important to apply a specific, time-tested method.
What method would best be employed to maximize my success potential?
The ANSWER to this question can be found in the SAL Textbook, Volume 2. It is an extension of the "SMART Goal" principle, and it is called SMARTIES Goals, or S.M.A.R.T.I.E.S. Goals.
SMARTIES is an acronym that stands for:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable (realistic) & Accountable
Relevant
Time-bound
In-competition primarily with yourself
Engaging
Sane
If you are serious about accomplishing any goal, I highly recommend applying the SMARTIES method. To illustrate how this method is designed to work, let's put my own goal through the SMARTIES formula and see if it passes the test.
SPECIFIC: I specify the life arena I want to work on (PHYSICAL), precise area I seek to improve (smaller girth), and exact amount of weight I am aiming to lose (25 pounds). More importantly, I have a very specific plan that involves intermittent fasting.
This plan asks me to not eat after 4:00 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays during the week. I will then further fast (skip) breakfast and lunch on Sundays. This goal and plan is very specific.
MEASURABLE: It's 25 pounds. Not 15, not 20, not 30. It's precise, mathematical, scientific, and measurable.
ATTAINABLE (Realistic): This goal is attainable or realistic based on my successful loss of 20 pounds in the final three months of 2019 by utilizing a similar method of intermittent fasting as outlined above. I am actually giving myself a lot more time to accomplish a similar objective. This will allow me the flexibility to take things slowly at a pace I know I can handle.
At the height of my personal fitness as a young man running track in college, I weighed #150 pounds. I recognize it is unrealistic to expect to return to those kind of "glory days." Moreover, I don't think I would want to be that skinny again. On the other hand, finding a happy-medium balance between that former place and where I am now is very realistic.
Furthermore, I know from personal experience that it is not presently realistic (for me) to go on a traditional "DIET" or arbitrarily limit my intake of my favorite foods and beverages in an attempt to "white knuckle" my way to better nutritional habits. Experience has taught me that I am much more successful if I regularly apply principles of intermittent fasting while concurrently striving for a modicum of moderation in my choice and intake of calories. And the good news is that there are health benefits aplenty to intermittent fasting practices.
Click HERE to read 14 Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Click HERE to access scholarly articles on the manifold benefits of INTERMITTENT FASTING.
ACCOUNTABLE: Announcing this plan on my blog makes me accountable to all of my readers. I will report back in one year's time to announce the results of my efforts.
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| SMARTIES Goals are Time-Bound |
RELEVANT: This goal is highly relevant to me personally. My physical fitness and health impacts every other area of my life. Losing weight will cause me to feel better about every other life arena. It will also provide me with the energy, motivation, and vigor required to be at my best.
When setting your own goals, strive to make them highly relevant to your values and standards. Avoid setting arbitrary goals that add little value to issues of greater importance beyond the goal itself.
TIME-BOUND: This goal has a deadline of January 1, 2023 for its completion. This makes it
time-bound.
In Competition Primarily with Myself: This goal does not involve competition with others. While it is not wrong or bad to set interpersonal goals, self-action leaders are always primarily concerned with self-improvement, not with comparing their progress with other people. Thus, intrapersonal goals should be one's primary focus.
ENGAGING: This particular weight-loss goal is very engaging for me personally. I am motivated to regain a higher level of health, fitness, energy, and esteem. I know from past experience that all four elements of my life are bolstered and improved as I exercise the self-discipline, diligence, focus, determination, and endurance required to see this kind of goal through to fruition.
SANE: There is a saying: "The definition of INSANITY is: Doing the same things over and over again while expecting different results." If you want a different output (result), you must invest in a different input (action); that is just a mathematical reality.
Eating too many calories (and the wrong kind of calories) and then applying exercise alone does not get me the results I desire. Such has often been my approach in the past. I cannot keep perpetuating this negative cycle and expect to see different results. This goal is SANE because I am committing to a program that changes my current habits to different habits that past actions have proven will bring me more desirable results as I follow through.
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| SAL Daily Task Tracker, available HERE |
To help track my progress with this goal, I will utilize the SAL Daily Task Tracker as found in the
SAL Textbook, Volume 2, or available on the
Freedom Focused website (Books and Free Content section), or by clicking
HERE.
I am genuinely excited about this goal, and I am pleased to report that I have already lived true to my resolve by fasting after 4:00 p.m on both Monday and Tuesday of this week.
Experience has taught me I will not be able to follow this well-laid out plan perfectly. For a variety of reasons (e.g. sickness, extenuating circumstances, the occasional "off" days that inevitably arise due to my own human weaknesses), I know I will fall short of my resolve on some (and perhaps even many) days moving forward. This is one of the reasons why I am giving myself an entire year to accomplish my goal, even though I know I could accomplish it in three months under ideal circumstances.
Life has taught me that rarely are circumstances ideal. Nevertheless, I am confident that if I remain committed to my goal, pick myself up each time I fall short and keep trying, and never give up, that on January first of next year (2023) I will be able to successfully report that I weight #175 pounds (or less) with all of the accompanying plusses of accomplishing that goal.
Wish me luck!
And now..... it's YOUR turn!
I invite—nay, I challenge—YOU to to now undertake the same process I undertook above, but this time for YOURSELF. If you will take your time, be sincere and authentic in your approach, and commit fully to the SMARTIES Goal process, I am confident you can similarly determine the right GOAL for you to work steadily on this year, and then see your goal through to fruition at your own appointed deadline.
—Dr. JJ
January 5, 2022
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Author's Note: This is the 246th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 245 FF Blog Articles.
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Notes:
* Smith, H.W. (2015) The 3 Gaps: Are You Making a Difference? San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler.
