New Year’s resolutions or dreams?

​Why not save the disappointment of not reaching the “I’m going to do this….” And plunge into dismal disenchantment when you haven’t lost those extra Christmas kilos by Easter.
 
The ancient Babylonians came up with the idea of promising new things to their gods at the beginning of their year. And we are still doing it! A long tradition of four thousand years, we are still talking about our ‘next year’ plans.
 
Since ‘resolutions’ is such a hard word, maybe that is why they don’t stick, but maybe think of dreams and new habits instead.
 
How could that be different?
 
A dream is something you’d like to get done at some point in life. For example, “I’d like to walk the Mönch peak track” or “I’d love to find the source of the Staubbach.” They can be something just around the corner or something that might take several years to work up to.
 
Apparently the best goals are the ones that are just out of reach at the present moment. If you can put an easy timeline and deadline to it and knowing that you could do it, then , its probably not big enough to be a dream but a goal.
 
A goal is a dream with a deadline. That means it is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and with a time frame. For example, “I’d like to save up 2,000€ towards renovating the kitchen by June this year.”
 
A habit is a daily or weekly activity that helps one accomplish their goals. For example, “I’m going to ditch my Netflix account and put that money towards the kitchen.” A habit helps put structure around a goal, making it more attainable.
 
Maybe instead of a resolution, we need to spend more time dreaming about what we want out of life. Then  we could take those dreams and start turning them into goals and habits. Then maybe at year end the dreams have come true.

Photo: Mönch South-East Ridge, near the top  October 2, 2020 Jean-Nicolas Fahrenberg