This is the time of year to look both back and forward. Much is made of setting New Year’s resolutions, yet the vast majority of resolutions set by the vast majority of people are never kept. Is setting resolutions an obligatory exercise scheduled for this time of year that has little to no real value? Is there any real purpose in setting resolutions and if there is, how can that purpose be maximized?
I believe there can be value in setting resolutions if they are done within a framework that targets success as the outcome. In other words, what is our motivation for setting resolutions? Do we really want to be successful? Or are we more interested in setting some arbitrary resolutions to make us feel good for the moment, but for which we are unwilling to do the work to achieve?
Resolutions require planning
Let’s begin by looking at resolutions not strictly as an end point, but as a journey. There are steps that are required to achieve a resolution. Think of taking a trip from wherever you are to the capital building in a neighboring state. What mode of transportation will you use? What directions do you need to get to the building? Will you travel there and back in one day, or will overnight accommodations be required? Will you take enough food with you or stop along the way to eat? Have you set aside an adequate amount of time to make the trip? It would be silly to start a three-day trip if you have a 9 A.M. doctors appointment tomorrow morning.
In a similar manner, the vision we have for our life is unlikely to happen if we do not plan. Say, for instance, I want to lose 15 pounds. If I simply state the desire, but have no plan for actually achieving the weight loss, I am unlikely to realize any progress toward losing the weight. In this case, my planning might include deciding when I will start and by what date I want to have lost the weight. Will I diet, exercise or use a combination of both? If I diet, will I use a formal dieting program or self-monitor my caloric intake? If I exercise, do I need to join a gym, find a personal trainer or determine a running schedule?
Resolutions require action
Once the planning is done, the next step is beginning. The journey doesn’t start until the first step is taken or the first part of the plan implemented. As we look at beginning the journey, one of the emotions that can prevent us from starting is fear. We might fear failing. Sometimes we fear not having done enough planning. We can fear having to step outside our comfort zones. We can even fear succeeding. One way to overcome fear is to acknowledge it and act anyway. Courage is not the absence of fear, but the choice to act in the midst of fear.
Looking specifically at the fear of failing, I recently heard that failure is a tax on success.* In almost everything we attempt, failure is part of the journey. Failure can be a paralyzing factor that prevents us from trying again, or it can be an opportunity to find another, better way. Thomas Edison once said, “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” He would know. He tried over 1,600 different materials before settling on a practical filament for the light bulb.
Resolutions require review
Another factor in successfully achieving the resolutions we set this year is regular reviews of where we are in the journey toward the resolutions. This is an important step because the strategy we developed in the planning phase rarely goes according to the plan. We can fail to see where adjustments are needed if we don’t take the time to assess what is working and what is not.
Resolutions should be celebrated
We often become so focused on the things done in order to be successful at our resolutions that we forget to celebrate. Celebrating can be as small as pausing to recognize that the resolution has been achieved or as big as a party or trip to celebrate success. Celebrations don’t have to be limited to the final achievement, but can be used to mark steps along the journey. These interim celebrations can serve as morale boosters as we realize we are making progress toward the resolution. Success isn’t limited to the final achievement. Success is realized at each step of the journey.
While all of this might seem like far more work than the resolution is really worth, the real question is what is the resolution worth to us? Ten years from now, what do you want to look back on: lots of resolutions that never came to pass or successful experiences that you had the courage to start and kept plugging away at? This year I’m going for the work and follow through that will let me look back on some successful resolutions!
* Michael Hyatt