Whether or not you stick to them, making and setting goals for yourself is an important part of personal growth. I once heard the saying, ‘if you aim at nothing, you hit nothing.’ The same can be said for New Year's resolutions. If you don’t make them, you don’t stand a chance of keeping them.
At the end of the day, setting your sights on something – anything – is the very first step to becoming a more disciplined and accomplished individual.
After you’ve set your goals for personal growth, the next step is to follow through with them by breaking them down into everyday habits whereby you can work towards achieving them, no matter how small or slow progress may be.
Several years ago, I set a New Year's resolution to quit smoking cigarettes after I had picked up the habit approximately five years earlier. What started out as a casual indulgence had turned into a daily habit that I just couldn’t kick despite several attempts to quit.
This time, even though I had set the goal several times before without following through, I finally did quit. It was a change in my heart and mind that had stuck, and I never bought a pack again. Mind you, there were one or two cigarettes that fell through the cracks in the first year, but I can now proudly say I am officially smoke free.
My point in telling this story is not to brag about how I’ve quit smoking – I sympathize with anyone who has tried or is trying to quit. It is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
By sharing my story, I hope to encourage some of you that even though you might have set goals for yourself in the past and failed to accomplish them as you hoped you would, it isn’t too late to start again, (or to quit again, in my case).
Since quitting smoking, I have relinquished other nasty habits too, and I’ve become very passionate about health and wellness, improving my physical, mental, and spiritual health over the years.
That one step taken – to stamp out my final cigarette butt - led me to adopt many new healthy habits in its stead.
I still like to indulge in an unhealthy habit or two, but if the good outweighs the bad on a consistent basis, I feel I am on a path toward bettering myself.
This year, I hope you will join me in setting some New Year’s resolutions, even if you don’t stick to them. If you’re especially eager, you don’t need to wait until New Year’s Day, you could start right away.
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
