You can admit it. There is a difference between potatoes baked in the oven versus those baked in the microwave. Despite which appliance is used to cook the potato, when it's done, it's still an edible baked potato - in most cases. However, the difference comes in the taste. The potato cooked in the oven took much longer than the microwaved potato, and the oven-baked potato also tends to win taste tests, but not always.

And that is the Baked Potato Allegory. It's a little more rustic than some of the famed allegories, such as Plato's Allegory of the Cave, Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, or George Orwell's Animal Farm, but it is indeed a modern metaphor for the human behavior of achieving goals.

As we approach the New Year, we find ourselves digging through our faults and looking for ways to improve. Losing weight, volunteering more, and spending more quality time with family can be spotted on the top ten lists and in national polls each year. And many people, as a result of these resolutions, join gyms (at least for a couple months), help at soup kitchens a few times, and plan family vacations. But when September comes about, our resolutions have seemed to fizzle, and when New Year's approaches in December, we unearth these dormant goals and give them another go. Our New Year's Resolution routine can best be summed up in a popular quote by Benjamin Franklin, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

So as you are examining your resolutions for this year, let's examine your goals in a different manner. Let's look at the larger goal and figure out what piece of it you'd like to accomplish this year. In the fast-paced world in which we now thrive, our goal-setting follows suit. Pause for a moment and recall the classic story of the Tortoise and the Hare. The fast-paced hare takes a few naps during the race and lost the race as a result. Slow and steady wins the race was the moral. It would be careless to assume that we should always move slowly, but this is a great analogy to encourage us to always keep moving forward, even if it means we can accomplish only small wins. In the end, the small wins make achieving our goal that much more memorable and meaningful.

With the advent of You Tube, reality television shows, and Internet blogging, people can achieve their goal of fame overnight. Well-known examples include Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, and Jennifer Hudson, all from American Idol seasons. Others who shared the goal of fame might have been working toward it for years or decades, and some never achieved it. For example, composer Johann Sebastian Bach wrote over 1,000 pieces during his time that where condemned as outdated. After his death, it was 80 years before his musical works became respected. Another posthumous example is Emily Dickinson. She was shy and secluded herself to writing in her bedroom. She wrote many letters and poems, however, she never sent any of the letters, and only seven poems were published during her lifetime. But she'd kept her poems and letters to later be discovered, which, since her death, have received great praise.

Regardless of speed, both the fast- and slow-famed achieved their goal. We can't forget that the fast-lane examples may have been taking singing lessons for many years and performing at churches, retirement centers, small productions and community events. Just like the slow-lane examples, they were always moving forward toward their goal - they just found their break earlier. The difference lies perhaps in the associated quality and the longevity of their fame. This is not to say that none of them will go down in history, as that might actually happen. But there is a richness and humbleness, assigned to those who are known for having struggled and having given much of their life toward their goal, that the fast-lane examples do not acquire. It's the Baked Potato Allegory.

In working toward a New Year's resolution using small wins, we determine a goal, and then we examine what elements it takes to achieve that goal. Let's say for example that you have a goal of being promoted. First, assess if that goal is achievable. By using small wins toward goal setting, you then decide that getting promoted is the overall goal and that the time to do so is less relevant. Instead, decide what the elements and characteristics it takes to be promoted look like and which you'd like to accomplish this year. For example, you could decide to find a mentor and challenge yourself by implementing the ideas and feedback this mentor provides. In the following years, you might decide to develop other technical and interpersonal skills, work toward earning a higher degree, or build your professional network.

As you plan your New Year's resolutions this year, remember to look at the big picture and the small wins. Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder of Apple and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, advises, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Sources:
http://www.trivia-library.com/people-who-became-famous-after-death/index.htm
http://thinkexist.com/quotations/time/
http://www.apple.com/pr/bios/jobs.html