Every year there are celebrations, family gatherings, good food, and fireworks that bring us into a fresh year. Along with the enjoyment that comes through ringing in the New Year there is a profound hopefulness for what the year could bring. Like millions of other people, I typically start off every New Year with some goals. Some are ambitious ones, like securing an internship, while others may be as small as spending less money eating out, or facetime my grandparents more often. I might follow through with some of my goals but for the most part, I find myself two months into the year and already forgetting the goals I set in the first place. They are usually scribbled down on a scratch piece of paper that has been thrown into a drawer. The top of that paper usually reads "Goals for ...". Goals are defined as the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. What is wrong with goals? They are something to aim for, but they leave too much room for people to fall short and be content that they tried. Have you ever fallen short of a goal but placated yourself by applauding your effort or how close you came to accomplishing what you set after? I know I have. It is hard to fall short. It was hard for me to think that I did well but it wasn't good enough. It is even harder to admit that I had some role in the failure.

Another problem with goals is that you may find yourself content with getting close but not finishing what you started. This leads to giving up on yourself. Maybe your goal was to lose twenty pounds? That goal may seem easy to give up on if you lost ten but have gotten too busy to complete your weight loss goal. You may find yourself laying in a comfy bed watching Netflix thinking "Well, at least I have gotten halfway there." What if your goal for the new year was to grab breakfast with your best friend once a week, but after January passes you by you only manage to grab a quick coffee once a month? Goals set us up for what people do the most in life: shooting for the moon but settling for landing somewhere amongst the stars. Sure, that ten pounds should be celebrated and the time you make in your crazy busy life to catch up with an old friend should be cherished, but think about how dull those achievements are compared to the full joy that would have come through completing what you set out to do.

Instead of setting goals for this new year, make promises. Promise yourself that you will plan and follow through with what you want to do in 2019. Be someone that does not break your own promises. If you do this, instead of setting goals, you will be holding yourself accountable to land on the moon and you will not be satisfied to land among the stars. As much as we try to convince ourselves otherwise when we settle for good enough instead of going after what we really want, we are cheating ourselves out of the joy in discovering that we are more than capable. Let 2019 be the year that you find that you are strong enough, smart enough, and daring enough to be ambitious in the pursuit of what you promise yourself you will acheive. Do not settle for "good enough" when you are exceedingly capable of taking this year to grow into who you are meant to be. Day by day keep your promises to yourself. You are the only one who can get you to where you want to be. Cheers to a year full of embracing your ambition.