Never one for New Year’s Resolutions, I’d still force myself to say something when asked, even though I never meant it.
I thought resolutions were something everyone had to set—whether they actually did them or not—because people on TV talked about it.
(Naivety was my “first language.”)
So in lieu of making resolutions each year, I review the previous year, set my 5-year goals and projects (my breakdown was discussed in the previous post); and, now, set my goals, projects, and values side-by-side to see how they all align and what changes should be made to keep them all congruent.
To note: I was a goal-oriented person prior major illness, but always felt like there was something missing, even after reaching a goal I’d set for myself.
Several weeks ago I struggled to break down my 5-year goals shared about in last weeks’ post. Then one day at my writers group, someone mentioned "values versus goals."
Goals have an end date with an end result. When you reach a goal, it’s wise to set a new goal or risk stagnancy. But values are forever. When you function from a place of values, opportunities are never-ending.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, goals are defined as the end toward which effort is directed. And values are relative worth, utility, or importance, or something (such as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable and desirable.
I hate to admit that I had no idea what I truly valued that wouldn’t warrant a half-assed “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?”-type response from me.
So, I made sure to record my year-end review first, which I’ll share with you here: