  Spiritual
This week: Rethinking the Resolution Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Welcome to this week's edition of the Writing.Com Spiritual Newsletter. I am honored to be your guest host, and thank you for joining me in this exploration. |
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Greetings, we're almost two weeks into a new year. Have you broken your New Year's resolution yet? Have you made no resolutions this year, because you've never succeeded in the past? Well, let's explore why most resolutions fail.
"I resolve that - I will lose 20 pounds," ...I will fit into that outfit/suit by summertime," "..,.I will write a poetry chapbook," "...I will finish my novel and submit."
All these are valid and attainable, so why do most of them fail? Wordsmiths, consider the wording. Can you see the why of it?
 First, we define a resolution = "a firm decision to do or not to do something (Oxford Dictionaries
This reads as an absolute - a straight yes or no, light or dark; there's no somewhat, or gray. Then, when we slip up or find the resolution not do-able without affecting or relying on others, we see it as a failure, perhaps thus ourselves as failures  This doesn't have to be. What if we rephrase the intention, make of it not an absolute.
 Set a goal "the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result (Oxford Dictionaries)
A goal is, as a resolution, a target. However, a goal I think is also a journey, where a resolution feels like an ending, without a journey. The journey of a goal may will sidetrack us or make us realize we have to modify our well-intentioned goal. Perhaps the goal was too broad, or relied on other, or had unexpected consequences. A goal, wordsmiths, by its definition, is a "desired result" not an absolute, so changeable.
 It's not too late to re-word a resolution for 2016 as a goal. I resolve to lose 20 pounds becomes, my goal is to lose 20 pounds by the end of the year; I resolve to publish a chapbook becomes, my goal is to publish a chapbook.
Now that we've set goals, we can begin the journey and set markers, or crossroads, on the journey.
 For example, if my goal is to lose 20 pounds by year-end, I may choose to aim for two pounds a month, and cut my dessert intake by half to attain that. I will visit my target after three months (easy to remember a quarterly review  ) and see if I am on target or if I need modify either the goal or the means to attain it.
 If my goal is to publish a chapbook by years end, again I would set markers, crossroads with measurable results. For example, perhaps I would read my poems and decide on a theme the first quarter; research the merits of traditional publishing and self-publishing while working on arrangement and edits second quarter - see where I'm going here?
By reviewing measurable targets on the way to the goal, I can assess progress, modify the process I need use to attain the goal. There's no crime, either, in modifying the goal. If my goal relies on the acts (or non-acts) of others, or if I find the path to my goal may harm someone (another reason to assess progress periodically), then I can modify the goal.
We can see here that a goal as opposed to a resolution is more likely to be met. It's measurable, malleable and, attainable. Not meeting goal as first stated is not failure, nor are we failures for not meeting them, as opposed to the absolute nature of a resolution, which by definition is either success or failure.
Okay, consider taking that resolution, and reworking it as a goal, measurable and with scheduled assessments. It's a challenge, a means to change, a pathway (with crossroads) to success.
Write On ~ One word at a time my goal) 
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading |
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I thank you for this brief respite along the journey of our lives.
I leave you with a goal easily met~
one resolution
sow random acts of kindness
water seedlings well
Brightest Blessings ^_^
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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Spiritual: January 13, 2016 Issue [#7414]
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