New Year’s Resolutions vs. Goals… and how to use them towards the ultimate goal

New Year’s Resolutions… How do you feel about them? I’ve never been a big believer in resolutions (probably because I can never seem to keep them up longer than a week!), but I do support writing out goals. What in the world is the difference between a resolution and a goal, you may ask? A resolution is something you want to do, or a change you want to make long term, like “go to the gym” or “save money”, whereas goals can be specific and measurable, such as “Lose 25 pounds by June” or “Deposit 10% of income into my 401K”.

There are pros and cons to both resolutions and goals, but ultimately it depends on how realistic you make them. One problem with being specific, is that you can become discouraged if the goals aren’t actually attainable. For example, if my goal is to lose 25 pounds in 2 months and then March comes and I’ve only lost 10 pounds, I could give up altogether.

So this year I’m making 5 realistic New Year’s Goals:

• Blog 2 times a week – This will help keep me on track for my ultimate goal of becoming Location Independent. On this website I am going to document my journey to location independence… hopefully I will not only motivate myself to keep moving forward but also inspire other people who want to make a lifestyle change!
• Train my dog Trevi to travel well – A little less specific than the others, but basically I need to make sure his Intermediate Obedience Classes didn’t go to waste by drilling everything into him. Plus going on some more weekend trips to make sure he is comfortable traveling via car, train and airplane.
• Study French 3 times a week – This is both practical and will help keep me engaged in the dream of location independence.
• Sell 2 items a month – Not only does owning fewer possessions allow you to travel easier, but it will earn me money to put towards my savings goals (more on that later, still to be finalized).
• Save $x Amount of Money – Still TBD, but leaning towards $10,000 so I have a buffer just in case my monthly income fluctuates. I am also a bit of a worrier, so more savings is better for me. I know people who have done it on a lot less.

 What are your resolutions or goals this year? Do you think my goals are attainable?