“Resolutions suck, set goals!”
…read the subject line from a Lululemon Athletica e-mail I received yesterday. (For those not familiar, Lululemon is a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company. I’m a member of their “team research and development,” so I get discounts on their clothing; but I bought their stuff long before that. It rocks.) Whoever wrote that subject line has my eternal admiration. Brilliant. And dead on.
The email goes on to say “A goal inspires you to do the work to create what does not already exist. Your goals should excite and even scare you. What will you create in 2011?”.
Creative energy. Creating something out of nothing. Being scared and doing it anyway. Isn’t that what goals are all about? You break them down into specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timed steps and you check off those steps one-by-one until you’ve made it all happen.
Resolutions, on the other hand, well…not as inspiring. “I resolve to” just doesn’t have the same ring to it as “I will”.
So what are your goals for the year? If you’ve made a list of resolutions, how can you turn them into goals instead? Make them active instead of passive? If you don’t yet have goals, why not? What fear is holding you back?
Here’s to doing the work…making your goals real. (Happy New Year!)
P.S. None of this is any good if you don’t also have a vision for your year. If you’re stuck on setting specific goals, try a vision first. You’ll get there…I speak from experience. 🙂
