Last year I came to the realization that I believe new year’s resolutions are destined to fail. Decisions made while either really drunk or horribly hung over are rarely going to be the most practical, and in reality they last as long as the flavor in that cheap pink bubble gum you used to get with hockey cards.
Because the expectation of failure was always in the back of my head I never took resolutions very seriously.. always opting for the generic “eat better, drink less, be a better person” crap that is always so difficult to measure and say for sure whether or not they were successful. Was I a better person? I bet my friends would drunkenly agree if I were to ask them (cue sarcastic input), but it is easy to be good to friends and family. Did I eat better? I’ll be damned if I know. There are always ways to trick yourself into justifying eating crap even when you know it isn’t good for you.
As a result of this ongoing cycle of futility, last year I took a slightly different approach and set goals. As it turns out most of my goals were moderately to seriously off the mark, but the point I am trying to make is the difference I see between a goal and a resolution. In my mind goals are more of a motivation than a resolution, because it turns out that close does count in something more than just horseshoes and hand grenades. Working towards a goal is always worth the effort, because you always have something to show for it when your arbitrary deadline passes.
Did I bike 3000km in 2007? No, but I did ride more than last year (a total of 2202km, I think that was about 400km further than last year)… and even though my revised goal for 2007 didn’t get reached either (it was a damn cold November and December), I still don’t look at it as a failure. How can I view biking the equivalent of half way across the country as a failure?
did I “learn one new thing a month”? If I had to sit down and say what I learned and when I’d likely run out of big stuff before I run out of months, but I’d like to think I could cross this one off as complete. There are some things I wanted to learn but couldn’t find the time or motivation to sit down and give them the time I know they would require.. but there is always this year.
There were other goals set, but I won’t bore you any more than is absolutely necessary. 
I think the goals I set last year were good, and they will likely get carried forward to motivate me in 2008. I have a vague idea of some things I’d like to add to the list, but that is the beauty of goals… I don’t have to set them now. I might add one tonight, but then again it is past my bedtime so I might just leave it for a while…
