This is the time of year when people are making their New Year’s resolutions…er…goals…er…affirmations.

Have you ever stopped to think about the subtle differences between those things?  Let’s take a few minutes to do that, so we can use the resultant observations to be more intentional about the coming year.

Resolutions

The dictionary defines a resolution as a “firm decision to do or not do something.” It’s somewhat synonymous with “intention,” so “making resolutions” and “setting intentions” are fairly similar.

The key trait of a resolution is that it’s a decision — to focus on a certain thing, to move toward a certain thing, to do or stop doing a certain thing.  Usually, however, there is no accompanying plan, so a resolution, by itself is good intentions — but only good intentions.

Goals

Goals — at least well-defined ones — are typically much more concrete.  “Lose weight,” might be a New Year’s resolution.  “Lose 15 pounds by Memorial Day weekend,” would be a goal.  (Some people set “goals” that are just as vague as “lose weight,” but then, really, they’re resolutions.)

Although the plan to reach it isn’t technically part of the goal itself, a key piece of goal-setting is creating that plan to get there.  So a goal might be viewed as a specific destination with a specific route for getting there.

Affirmations

Affirmations are positive statements meant to be repeated aloud to oneself, preferably in the present tense.  Their purpose is to “affirm” the truth of someone in the mind of the person repeating the affirmations.  It has been my observation that affirmations fall into two categories: truths and hopes.  What do I mean by that?  Let me explain.

Some affirmations are truths repeated to the hearer to combat the negative messages that so often bombard our minds.  For instance, if “I’m so stupid and worthless” is a mental message you have a tendency to repeat to yourself, you might choose an affirmation to counter that.  It could be something like, “I am precious and valued” — sort of a “general” positive message to counter the ugly one.  Or it could be a direct Scriptural quote, like, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Either one is an affirmation.  The point is, it’s something true the individual is repeating.

The other type of affirmation is the variety where the speaker is stating something he hopes will happen (the achievement of one of his goals, perhaps), but in the present tense.  For instance, if the aim is to make $1,000,000/year, the affirmation might be, “I am making $1,000,000/year” — even if the individual currently only makes $30,000.

It’s important to recognize that this isn’t intended as lying or delusion!  It’s not that the person somehow believes the $30,000 is a false reality.  It’s a sort of mental role-playing, to get the mind and emotions on board with imagining and getting excited about that thing the person is pursuing.  Psychologically, this helps him keep moving eagerly toward the desired end, rather than getting discouraged by the current reality.

So Which One is Right for You?

So…resolutions vs. goals vs. affirmations: which one is right for you?

That’s kind of a trick question, because it may not be just one!  No one of these things is better than the others; they’re just different.

Resolutions or intentions are typically not very productive by themselves.  Most people who make New Year’s resolutions have fallen off the bandwagon by the end of January.  Why?  They’re inherently not actionable.  A resolution probably serves more effectively either as an overall focus or “theme” for the year (as the One Word concept), or as the precursor to a goal (where the resolution comes first and then it’s fleshed out as a goal).

Goals are a good thing, and I believe everyone should have them.  How many you have at one time, how detailed you are in breaking them down, etc. is all up to you, but I think we ought to all be working purposefully toward something.

In some form or fashion, we probably all need affirmations, too.  Now, maybe not everyone will want to formally sit down and make a list of affirmations they want to repeat daily.  But an informal repetition of verses we have memorized is affirming truth to our minds — and we all need that!

If you regularly find yourself discouraged, though, I’d encourage you to consider doing this in a more structured way.  Make a list of the lies you find yourself repeating all the time (even if just mentally) and then choose some verses, or some truths in your own words, that turn those things on their heads.  Repeating those things to yourself intentionally — reading them, speaking them, hearing them — helps to “overwrite” the negative messages with the positive ones.

Do you make resolutions, set intentions, set goals, and/or choose affirmations?  How has it worked for you?