Happy New Year. Now drop all of your New Years resolutions! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Happy New Year. Now drop all of your New Years resolutions! - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog I wish all the readers of this blog a spectacularly happy 2008. And I believe that one of the best way to get yourself just that, is to NOT make any new years resolutions. Steve Shapiro says it best: Once again it is that time of year when we look forward into the new year. We set our resolutions. Lose 10 pounds. Stop smoking. Get out of debt. Unfortunately, most resolutions are about fixing what is wrong with you rather than bringing pleasure into your life. In addition, most resolutions are target- and time-based goals (e.g., lose 10 pounds by the end of the year). These just set you up for failure. It?s no surprise that according to a survey of mine, only 8% of people are successful in fulfilling their resolutions. And those who do achieve their resolutions are often no happier. When you focus on a target-based resolutions, you are focused on the future rather than the present. As a result, you miss the ?hidden? opportunities around you, and miss out on the joy of every day life. Steve, author of the excellent book Goal-Free Living, has a much better idea: Set yourself a theme for 2008. How is a theme different from a resolution? Having a theme for the year is about setting a general direction you want to move in. Its not about having specific goals. A theme is something you want to achieve. Most resolutions are about something people want to avoid. With a theme, you cant fail. With resolutions, youre almost certain to fail. Go check out Steves excellent post on this topic, which also has a video of him presenting the idea in a TV interview. I heartily recommend having a theme for your work life in 2008. And I definitely recommend themes that have something to do with enjoying work more. But then I would, wouldnt I? :o) What about you? What might your theme for 2008 at work be? Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related