At the beginning of every year, I hear people make these declarations about things they’re going to do starting in January, or at some point in the coming 365 days. Their “New Year’s Resolutions”.
resolution
: the act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc.
: the act of resolving something
: an answer or solution to something
Most of the time, I find that these declared resolutions actually fit better into one of these two categories:
goal
: something that you are trying to do or achieve
or
intention
: the thing that you plan to do or achieve
: an aim or purpose
: a determination to act in a certain way
: what one intends to do or bring about
Working out more, losing __ pounds, quit smoking, quit drinking, the list goes on.
I know that this is just me being picky about semantics. But I feel like there are a lot of people that make these ‘resolutions’, and by February they are a distant memory. Why is that?
There are also these things:
dream
: something that you have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time
: a strongly desired goal or purpose
aspiration
: a strong desire to achieve something high or great
Now we’re increasing the magnitude of the words. Dreams and aspirations. Those sound like long-term ideas, right? Not something that most people think about doing in the next few months. But why not? Every idea has to start somewhere, right?
It isn’t just going to happen in one day, it takes hundreds or thousands of little steps in the direction of your dream.
Steps that you can easily start taking in January, or right now preferably. 🙂
All these things stem from this:
desire
: to want or wish for (something)
: to feel desire for (something)
: to long or hope for
But desire means nothing if you don’t have this:
commitment
: a promise to do or give something
: a promise to be loyal to someone or something
: the attitude of someone who works very hard to do or support something
plan
: a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something
Probably 90% of people don’t follow through with their “resolutions” past March.
Why is that? Do people make resolutions because they feel like they should? New Year, New Me? That whole concept?
If you really, truly want something, you are going to COMMIT to getting it.
So what is it? What is it that you DESIRE? DREAM about? ASPIRE to?
Solidify your vision, and just fucking do it. Figure out what steps you need to take to get there, and make it happen.
Quit listening to your Fear and start listening to your Self. Quit making excuses.
Make a promise to yourself. Be loyal to yourself. Take care of yourself. LOVE yourself. Respect yourself enough to follow through with the things you’ve always dreamed about.
You have unlimited potential as a human. Let’s embrace it. Let’s make some PLANS.
Emily is an Artist, entrepreneur, and ambitious introvert who had to rethink her career plans when she married a military man. She wrote Permission Granted to lift other purpose-driven women up on the journey to creating their ideal lives.
