So Close

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.

Melody Beattie

Probably just like every other blog on WordPress today, I am going to be writing about New Year’s Resolutions! 🙂

 

My dog is what you would call lazy. I got him a new ball for Christmas and just like every other time he loves the toy for weeks afterwards because it is new and exciting. He carries it with him wherever he goes and brings it to everyone to play with it again. He will not eat his dog food, unless the ball is in the dish.

Our New Year Resolutions are new and exciting and we are determined to achieve them. We go around and tell everyone what we are going to do and how we are going to do it because we are so sure that this will be the time that you do not give up in February like all the other times you made this goal.

So one day my dog is laying on his mat playing with his new ball and it rolls away from him. Maybe not even a foot. But it seems like miles to the dog who weights more than me.

My lazy dog

It is like cold winters when the blanket is at the foot of your bed and you are so cold, but it seems impossible to reach the corner of it and pull it up. So you lay there suffering knowing that your reward is so close.

It is pathetic. I know that if the ball rolled maybe five feet away my dog would get up and go get it, but when it is so close he doesn’t.

Why is it when we can see our goals, just an arms-length, another week, ten more pounds, away that it seems the hardest to fulfill. We can look back at how far we have come, but that little bit more to go is the hardest.

The closer you get to the mountain top, the harder the wind blows.

Your goal is so close that you are just stare at it and not make any progress. Or in my dog’s case staring at it so that you might magically have telekinesis.

You can see the reward, fitting into that beautiful dress for your sister’s wedding, tweeting on Twitter that you have been sober for 100 days, seeing your blood pressure go down showing that your meditation is working, chewing on your new favorite ball. But you soon begin to doubt, is it worth it?

Is picking carrots instead of M&M’s for studying worth the compliments on your dress? Is not going to the bar with friends worth the pride you feel in your heart? Is the loss of 30 minutes of sleep worth the lower stress level? Is the ball really worth standing up for?

You made the goal in the first place and thought it was worth it, but did you know all the sacrifices you would have to put into it?

I am the type of person who needs specific just out of reach, but not quite impossible goals to succeeded. I make goals in my writing, grades, reading, and relationships. For me, it is not so much about the pride I feel when I make my goals, but about not failing.

Teachers have always told students, even as far as taking away the ‘F’ at my school, that failing is not an option. They are wrong. Failing is an option. Failing is a very real and scary option. Failing means that you are not good enough. Failing means that who or whatever your rival was, won.

Goals are not about achieving them, but about not failing.

Your goals will always be worth it, if the reward is more than the loss of failing.

So when you can see your reward right in front of you, but it seems so far away you can do three things.

1. Rise up and make the goal and don’t let anything get in your way.
2. Give up and fail.
3. Stay stagnant and neither achieve nor fail which in a sense does truly mean failing.

So this post is about not staying stagnant in your New Year’s Resolutions. I think the worst thing we can do when creating our Resolutions is using the words ‘more’ or ‘less’. They are words that allow you to stop your goals as soon as you make some progress at all. Like the extremely popular Resolution, ‘Lose Weight.’ As soon as you lose five pounds, then you made your goal and you can continue on eating Twinkies everyday for lunch. (Yes, I actually have a friend who does this) 🙂

Make your goals specific and just out of reach, but not impossible because then we would need Tom Cruise from Mission Impossible. (I am actually making a pop culture reference!)

Do not say that you will do it tomorrow.

Always take joy in achieving your goals, you put in the time to celebrate! But once you made your goal, don’t go and slack off just because you can but try to continue with it. It may even become a lifestyle!

Achieve your goals and you will feel happier!

My dog did not actually get up and get his ball, I just gave it to him. 😉

 

So my New Year’s Resolution basically goes against everything I just said. Yeah, yeah, I know I am not putting into practice what I preach, but I make a lot of goals everyday that I do use the advice I just gave. My goal is more something to work at for a long period of time than the goals I normally make that have a fixed time amount. I want to have more courage. Not only courage but to be bold also. I want to act on the nice things I see I could do. Too many times I get all the materials and get all ready, but I never actually do the thing I think should be done. I see so many nice things that I could do, but I seem to always chicken out. So I want to have courage to make someone’s day just a little bit brighter and I want to be bold enough to let those acts change me.

 

Feel free to leave your New Year’s Resolutions in the comments below!