First things first, welcome back to the newsletter! It’s been quite some time since I’ve put this out, but it’s going to become a regular thing for me moving forward – a goal, not a resolution… :)

And that commitment serves as the perfect transition to what I wanted to talk about today – goals vs. resolutions.

We all know it’s that time of year where we reflect on the past year and look ahead to the new one, and often times our focus is on the things we wish we’d done differently or accomplished last year and committing to doing more in the year to come (as I’ve just done).

I think it’s really important, however, to internalize the difference between a resolution and a goal.

At its highest level, a goal and a resolution might appear very similar, but there are some big differences that translate to you actually getting done what you want to get done.

A resolution is usually just a statement.

“I will eat better in 2022.”

“I’m going to lose 20 lbs in 2022.”

“I’m going to get my estate plan done.” (I had to throw that in there!)

There is rarely a plan behind the resolution – this is partly why resolutions are so fun – all hat and no cattle, as they say.

A goal, on the other hand, is specific, it is measurable, it is timebound, it is achievable, and it is realistic (also known as SMART).

Goals create progress.

Goals promote change.

Goals are good.

Something I do with my family every year is have everyone think about and write down one or two goals they’d like to accomplish for the year.

Then we meet together and formulate a plan to help everyone achieve their goals.

It could be to get straight A’s in school.

It could be to take a trip outside of the US.

It could be to make the varsity basketball team.

It could be getting a promotion at work.

The key is, it doesn’t matter what everyone wants to do, but working toward those things is what makes life fun and interesting and fulfilling.

And isn’t that what life is all about?

And I almost forgot, but there’s one other thing about goals that’s different from resolutions – goals start TODAY (or whenever you set them).

There’s absolutely no reason to wait until some arbitrary date in the future to get done what you could get started on today. :)

Have a great week!

Cheers,

Christopher Small
CMS Law Firm LLC