New Year, New You?

Personal growth and making time for leisure activities top resolutions for 2007 By Debbie Gardner PRIME Editor What were your New Year's resolutions for 2007? If your list included any of the following: Lose weight, Pay off debt, Save money, Get a better job, Get fit, Eat right, Get a better education, Drink less alcohol, Quit smoking (now!), Reduce stress overall, Reduce stress at work, Take a trip, or Volunteer to help others then your goals are right in line with the traditional hopes and dreams of your fellow Americans, at least according to the list of popular New Year's resolutions we here at PRIME found in the "for citizens" section of the U. S. Government's official web portal, FirstGov.gov. And you're plans are also in line with those of my fellow employees at Reminder Publications, Inc. PRIME conducted a quick inter-office e-mail poll the third week in December and found getting in shape, going back to school and paying off debt were among some of the more popular goals for 2007. But there were also some more altruistic desires in that employee survey. PRIME saw resolutions that included finding the time to read more books especially those centered on spiritual study and to think more about others than oneself (and to act on those thoughts by showing what one respondent called "an attitude of gratitude"). Some co-workers were looking for a way to achieve a better work-life balance. Others were looking to find ways to alter their daily chores and routines so they could spend more time with children and family. Was PRIME tapping in to the beginning of a trend? A resolution revolution PRIME contacted Greg Helmstetter, CEO of the Internet goal-setting web site myGoals.com, to see if other would-be resolution-makers were following the same train of thought. According to Helmstetter, they are. "There's slightly less interest in health and fitness, and money and real estate, and the interest has shifted to personal growth," Helmstetter said. Helmstetter said the data myGoals based this observation on is collected blindly, making it a more accurate picture of what people are actually thinking and feeling than the answers individuals might give when responding to a survey. "We don't survey," he said. "We just look at anonymous goal-setting information based on people using our site. These are actual goals people set." For example, data extrapolated by myGoals.com shows a four percent decrease in interest in health and fitness, and a three percent decrease in interest in career-oriented goals. Conversely, there was a five percent jump in goals involving personal growth and interests and a three percent bump in goals that involved recreation and leisure pursuits. "When we talk about changes [in the type of resolutions people are making], we're talking about slight changes," Helmstetter said. "But a couple of percentage points here and there, when you're talking about the U.S. population, is pretty significant." Even when individuals did list career goals, Helmstetter said they were more growth-oriented. For example, when myGoals.com observed individuals creating goals that involved career, "it's because they want to seek more personal fulfillment from their job," he said. PRIME wondered if this shift in resolutions might be influenced by the fact that the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation the largest demographic in America's current population figures is reaching the age of 60. We asked Helmstetter for his thoughts on the trend. "Where did this societal change come from? When something like Set. 11, 2001 happens, it's easy to see. But I think the demographic shift [of the aging of the Baby Boom generation] has something to do with it," he said. "I could be wrong," he added. "I am speculating here." Making them stick Of course, there's a big difference between making a New Year's resolution or setting any goal for that matter and sticking to it. After all, the human race has been making resolutions in the month of January since 153 B. C., when the Romans named the first month of their new calendar after the two-faced god, Janus, and began celebrating the New Year with gifts and merrymaking. (source: the web site www.goalsguy.com). So, how does someone stay motivated to stick with those resolutions? According to Helmstetter, it's all in how you approach making changes. "It's useful to harness the motivation that comes at New Years, but the thing to do is make a plan during that brief time of motivation," he said. "The plan doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to be out there where you can see it . throughout the rest of the year, which is when the change actually occurs." Keeping that resolution Helmstetter said that, for some individuals, the act of planning helps turn up the reasons other attempts to stick with New Year's resolutions and other goals have failed in the past. "The planning process is a big 'aha!' for many people," Helmstetter said. "It sometimes reveals obstacles and challenges that they didn't know they had, and it turns out [these obstacles] are what they need to focus on." But whether it's sticking to your original goals, or working on new ones that you uncovered during your planning process, the questions still remains: how do you stick to it? For Helmstetter, it's all about constant reminders and motivation. Which is exactly what his web site, myGoals.com, provides to its subscribers. "In our case, you have e-mail reminders that keep coming that provide the small doses on periodic motivation [to keep you on track]," he said. For those individuals that aren't tech-savvy, he said the old tried-and-true method of reminder notes stuck up in conspicuous places, or in a day-runner, can do the trick. "The notes on the bathroom mirror still do the trick," said the myGoals.com CEO. "I do both [the notes and e-mails] I think the more you can do the better." And for those long-range goals? But what if your resolution is more of a long-range thing, such as not going crazy trying to get things done next Christmas? Well, according to Cali Williams Yost, who operates an online blog about achieving balance called www.worklifefit.com, this is another case of taking the time to make a plan . and then sticking to it. "The beauty of the holidays is that we KNOW they are coming again next year. Just like we know if we work for a company or industry that has tight year end deadlines," Yost says in her Dec. 19, 2006 work+life fit blog. "So, leveraging what we already know, let's start earlier-right now. Take out your calendar for 2007 and flip to December. Mark off the weekends you want free, the days you want to try to take off or work from home and the evenings you want to leave early. 'But what if things come up?' you say. They might, but at least you have a running head start going into the holiday season next year," she said. Yost is the author of "Work+Life: Finding the Fit That's Right for You," and a respected lecturer on work-life balance. To read more about achieving work-life balance, visit her web site, www.worklifefit.com. Need online help to keep those resolutions? Here are a few useful sites: Goal-setting: www.myGoals.com (This site offers follow-up motivation) www.Eons.com www.higherawareness.com Diet and exercise: www.sparkspeople.com Achieving balance: ww.worklifefit.com