New Year Resolutions - not a SMART move !

You may have heard of this concept called SMART which speaks about how all your goals should be SMART i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and TimeBound. I am sure there must be a lot of research and wisdom behind this, yet, for once, I would urge if we can forget this while making our New Year Resolutions - if at all we intend to make some resolutions.

Most of us get bogged down by this quantifiable or measurable thing too much. Try remembering a resolution where you haven’t tagged it to a metric, no? 

I just read someone boasting on twitter that he reads 20 books a month. I am fine, that’s no small feat but how about enjoying and imbibing as many books as you feel like instead of ‘finishing 20 books by June 2014’ as your goal. How about leaving a book halfway just because you didn't like instead of trying finishing the book to attain a count. 

Most popular new year resolution worldwide would be ‘I shall lose Xkg by May 2014’. And then we get trapped by this. I understand that watching weight is a must but living by weighing scale is little too much. 

I even know of people who resolve that I shall visit at least 4 new towns this year. Come on, rather why not just enjoy your travel or just roam around. You may find many a interesting things in your town only. Why this tick in the box approach of visiting towns!

How about learning something new as a resolution? Yes, why not. But why get into the trap of measuring it, isn't learning a continuous process? A youtube video, Khan Academy, Coursera - so many learning tools available, just login whenever and wherever you feel like. Why keep a tab that I took 9 french lessons this year?

Most overrated new year resolution seem to be "I shall spend more time with family, at least 3 vacations this year are a must". Family time doesn't require a resolution, it should come naturally and why is there a need to tie it down to number of vacations or counting how many weekends you spend together.

So, this year, forget SMART but make some Stupid resolutions and then forget them. And, if you really like this concept, why make new year resolutions at all - just enjoy this year, this moment, every moment. 

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