Don’t let the Ball Drop on Your New Year’s Resolution

New Year’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. It symbolizes a fresh new start and a resolution to do better, be better, and of course, to be brilliant!

But have you noticed that abandoning our good intentions is all too easy and predictable? A lot of us have heard that fewer than 10 percent actually do what we resolve at the start of each year. That number gets repeated more than it gets proven—but the pattern is real: follow-through is hard.

For instance, if you want to improve your health and join a gym, the odds of follow-through are not good. A commonly cited figure is that 80 percent of people who join a gym at the start of a new year quit within five months, and a small share do not even make it to February.

What is the trick to making resolutions that stick?

Is it to pick an altruistic resolution about what we wish for, such as Kanye West’s resolution of just wanting everyone to be happy?

Probably not.

I recommend following the tips below to help you pick a resolution that will move you into brilliance:

1. Be realistic. While wanting something grand for others might sound good, with no disrespect to Mr. West, the problem is that we cannot control others. Make a resolution that you can accomplish.
2. Consider what will get in the way of your success. Erik Larson, a contributor to Forbes, suggests we consider the roadblocks to success and address those blockers head-on. We need to decide what we will do when they make it hard to keep our resolution.
3. Keep it simple. I personally love the one-word resolution idea. The OneWord365 site says it best: Choose just one word. One word you can focus on every day, all year long . . . One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. Additional information can be found in the book My One Word: Change Your Life with Just One Word by Mike Ashcraft and Rachel Olsen.
4. Make a step-by-step plan to implement your resolution. A detailed daily, weekly, or monthly plan of what you are going to do will help ensure follow-through. Schedule time in your calendar to review and reinforce positive progress. For me, if it isn’t on the calendar, it just doesn’t happen.
5. Reinforce your resolution with support. Many ways are available to support the implementation of your resolution. Quotes, daily reminders, apps, podcasts, articles, and books will encourage you and provide necessary knowledge. Finally, consider sharing your resolution with others. The research is inconclusive on whether sharing your goals is a motivating factor. Therefore, you need to be the judge of whether keeping your resolution to yourself is encouraging or discouraging. For instance, if your resolution is to join a gym, you may need to confer with family members on how your change of routine will impact their day. You also may want to seek informal groups or professional groups or individuals to encourage goal completion.

Along with the ushering in of a new year, I hope you will find that these suggestions move you into the group that follows through on their resolutions, and that the year shines with your brilliance.

Copyright: David Sandonato.