With 2014 coming to a close, I have goal-setting on my mind. I love setting goals, mostly because of how great it feels once I crush them. Sometimes I even make really easy goals, just for the satisfaction of checking them off my to-do list.
“Wake up.” Check!
“Eat breakfast.” Check!
“Get dressed.” Check!
Just like that, I’m on a roll!
New Year’s Resolutions, however, are much more daunting. Although I like the idea of creating a plan for the coming year, my experience confirms what statisticians report– only 8% actually achieve what we set out to do.
If you’re anything like me (i.e. one of the 92%), part of the problem is that we set the bar too high. Now, I’m not saying we should give up goals entirely. I’m just saying that if we want to be successful, we need to reign in our expectations. Instead of swearing up and down that this year we’re going to drop 50 pounds, save $10,000 dollars, donate to charity, quit smoking, run a marathon, and stop binge watching our favorite television series on Netflix, we should try setting one or two meaningful goals and focus on those instead.
Before you tell me how brilliant I am, I should admit that I didn’t come up with this idea. I stole it from the one and only Mark Twain, who explained this philosophy in a unique way. He said: “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
I know what you’re thinking. Why on earth would I want to eat a frog?! And who on earth would pay me to do it?! No one, it turns out. You see, Mark Twain isn’t talking about literal frogs-he’s using them as a metaphor for all the things we have to do, even though we’d much rather be watching Netflix. The idea is that if you complete your most dreaded task first, whether it’s filing a detailed expense report or deep-cleaning your kitchen, everything else you do for the rest of the day will seem easy in comparison.
That’s why this year, I’m not setting myself up for failure by making ten resolutions that I probably won’t achieve. Instead, I’m making it my goal to do one thing each day, and to do that one thing first. Some people kiss frogs hoping to find a prince; I plan to eat them, hoping for world domination.
Tell me: what frog do you plan to eat this morning? I hope it’s a big one!
Happy Monday, Happy New Year, and Bon Appetit,
Mary
