The Difference Between Goals and Resolutions
You might think that as a New Year’s Resolution coach, my favorite of the two above topics would be clear - and you would be right.
I love resolutions.
That’s why I do what I do, after all.
And while the terms “goals” and “resolutions” are used by some people interchangeably (me included), I wanted to take some time to differentiate between the two, because they aren’t quite the same thing.
I don’t intend to use the dictionary definition of either word to support my explanations, and I know that my perspective on both might be slightly unique - but I’m okay with that. My conception of these terms comes from my background, experience, and what I have found serves me and my clients.
The process for working towards our growth, accomplishments, and progress starts out when we identify a dream. A dream is something that we want or desire. Once we know what we want, many of us then set goals. Moving from identifying a dream to setting a goal tends to be pretty seamless for most people.
A goal is a specific thing that we want to achieve or a desired result. By achieving our goal, we will either have made our dream into reality (like running a marathon, if that was your dream) or have taken steps towards making our dream a reality (like organizing your closet, if your dream was to have a tidy house).
A resolution is a type of goal. We talk a lot about short-term goals and long-term goals, proving that we know there are different kinds, and resolutions are just another category. At least with New Year’s resolutions, resolutions are a type of goal that typically have a year-long timeframe. There are so many reasons I believe resolutions are the best kind goals you can set, but I won’t be sharing all of those here.
However, I do want to take some time to further illustrate the power of resolutions and what sets them apart within the generic category of “goals”.
So, while “resolutions” may be a category, that alone doesn’t provide a detailed definition.
I define resolutions as a commitment to your goals, the life you want, and the person you are becoming along the way. They are about so much more than just the thing you are working towards and are focused on the growth you will experience and an overall commitment to the process.
It is the resolute and determined decision to work towards your dream that sets resolutions apart.
Unfortunately, resolutions tend to get a bad wrap. This comes largely from people who don’t understand what resolutions really are, from people that “set” unrealistic or unattainable resolutions, or from people that simply set resolutions they aren’t committed to. Many of these people aren’t likely to reach their goals anyway (whether in the form of resolutions or not), and they certainly don’t understand the powerful potential of resolutions.
There is also some confusion about what it really means to set a resolution. Contrary to many people’s belief, setting resolutions isn’t about...
deciding what you want just once a year
impossible standards
pursuing goals because you think you “should”
doing what everyone else is doing
feeling like the process should just be easy
beating yourself up at any point along the way
Instead, setting resolutions is about...
determining the things that matter to you + incorporating them into your life
setting realistic goals, but not being afraid to stretch yourself + grow
a commitment to yourself + the person you want to become
recognizing that facing obstacles + failures are part of the process + where the growth is
building the skill of achieving your goals (whatever they are!)
As you might expect, you’re much more likely to keep your resolutions and achieve your goals with the second perspective.
One of my goals (and resolutions) is to redefine society’s perception of resolutions. I know that as goals go, that’s pretty vague, and one that would be almost impossible to measure, but it is one that I am working toward nonetheless.
Resolutions are an incredibly strategic + powerful way to set goals. And they’re a major part of the conversation every time January 1st rolls around. There are articles and podcast episodes and people sharing the things they want to accomplish.
But most of the time, not too long after they’re set, they’re shrugged off. By February, or sometimes even January 2nd, people have moved on to other things.
I believe that resolutions come up every year because of their importance and latent potential. But in order for people to follow through, they must put in work and effort - on January 2nd and beyond.
And I don’t think that resolutions have a bad reputation because they are harder to keep or because they are actually kept at a lower rate than other goals. Rather, it is the built-in timeline (from January 1 to December 31) that reminds people of the resolution they set and helps them to notice their progress (or lack thereof) during the year. With any other open-ended goal, you can simply work on it whenever or however it suits your life. It may take several years to reach your goal, but you may not even notice because of the lack of a timeline. On the other hand, you may give up on a goal altogether or completely forget about it without the deadline of December 31st to prompt you to look back over the year and see what you wanted to accomplish and how you did - and then to plan out your next resolutions accordingly.
The timeline and deadline of resolutions is part of what makes them so powerful, and while they can create some guilt as the end of the year draws closer, it also provides some accountability and motivation - and that is so much better than pushing off or forgetting about the things that you really want.
Instead of continuing to devalue this really powerful goal-setting tool, I think it is time to give resolutions the attention they deserve. And give our resolutions, goals, and dreams the attention they deserve. Not just because they deserve it, but because we and our futures do too.
Technically, it may not really matter what you call the things you hope to achieve - but I think that it does, at least on some level. Language is important, and the commitment to yourself and what you want (which is implicit in my definition) is even more so.
Plus, when you set resolutions, you’re creating a goal associated with champagne + celebration - what could be better than that.
If you want support, guidance, and accountability to keep your resolutions (or goals, I won’t judge what you call them), book your free call with me right here. I can’t wait to toast you + your success.
Until next time,