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Do Resolutions or Goals Make You Happier?

Gretchen Rubin is working on a book called The Happiness Project, which is all about how she spent a year trying everything she’s ever heard of to be happy. She’s been blogging about what she’s learned in the process over at HuffingtonPost. Her latest entry is about the difference between a resolution and a goal, and whether achieving one or the other leads to happiness.
 
She argues that having a goal and striving to achieve it is essential to happiness, though many of the things that we talk about as goals—getting more exercise, eating better, avoiding procrastination—are really resolutions that are meant to be kept every day.
 
When it comes to resolutions, Rubin argues, it’s different because you’re challenging yourself to keep that resolution every day as opposed to constantly looking towards an endpoint. “Each day, I try to live up to my resolutions,” she writes on her blog post. “Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but every day is a clean slate and a fresh opportunity. I never expect to be done with my resolutions, so I don't get discouraged when they stay challenging.”
 
Do you find a difference in the way you work towards achieving a goal or maintaining a resolution? Which one makes you happier when you are successful? [HuffingtonPost]

Posted: 4/10/08
k8lynch

They both make me happier; keeping resolutions as a pat on the back, and making goals as a bigger achievement for which I sometimes reward myself. Am loving your Being Happier daily tips! The Happiness Journal is fab! Am happier just writing down the things that have made me happy in the past, and selecting those which are achieveable in the next 30 days. Thank you!

  • By k8lynch
  • on 3/10/11 4:31 PM EST