As we continue in the holiday season full of religious festivities, company parties and social celebrations, it is a sure sign that another calendar year is coming to an end. Often around this time of year we are able to slow down a bit in our daily routines, and take the time to self reflect on our goals and accomplishment that have been achieved. Out of this process, New Years resolutions are typically formed as a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good, or to stop doing something bad on the first day of the year.
Studies suggest that roughly 42% of individuals set New Year resolutions for themselves. If you are like me you set specific goals daily, monthly, and annually for yourself and have met them, or are continuing in your efforts to achieve them.
In the assessment of your progress, it is important to keep a close understanding of why we set a goal in the beginning. As we move into a New Year and begin to think of what we want to accomplish in 2016, it has become somewhat cliché in our culture to make a new years resolution to wards achieving a goal. A resolution is simply a re-solution that comes through understanding that a challenge or task that was previously presented is not being solved currently. Then a re-solution is needed to assist in achieving the desired change. Some of the most common resolutions are Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, improve finances, improve career, be more charitable, get rid of bad habits, and countless other actions to change that will improve our quality of life.
A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88-92% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study’s participants were confident of success at the beginning. The majority of those who fail to reach a solution completely abandon their goal before or by 90 days into working towards them. This means that only 8-12% of individuals actually achieve the one goal that they set out to complete in 365 days. When you really think about it, by the time most people abandon a goal, they still have more time to assess, plan, and work towards its completion.
If a problem has garnered so much attention that you are compelled to build your whole year around completing this one task, then why are so many resolution not achieved? In my opinion, resolutions are not achieved because we really don’t buy into the benefits that will be realized once the goal is met. If we fail to have a specific “why” or problem for which the goal was created to solve, then we falsely place more value on keeping the problem than deliberately changing our actions towards the solution. Some individuals choose goals just to participate with the crowd and have an answer to the question “what is your new years resolution”? However, a resolution is only important if you have a problem to find a solution for.
Today is a great day to make a resolution for any problem that you have. Imagine that you are traveling in a vehicle, headed to a specific destination. Maybe your destination is the airport as you head out of town on vacation, or your destination could be a conference that you are attending to acquire knowledge and better yourself. Either way, you are headed on a path towards a destination. On your journey to this destination you have a GPS (global positioning system) device, and have put your desired destination into place. As a result you receive your coordinates, routing analysis, and an estimated time of arrival. For all purposes, the GPS has provided you with clear and complete directions on how to get to your destination.
Along your journey you happen to make a wrong turn, or encounter traffic and construction on roadways that were perceived to be open. You find your ideal directions blocked, and you have to create a re-solution in order to get you to the desired destination. One of the outstanding technological features created within a GPS device is that as soon as you are off the given path to your destination, your device automatically recalculates your route and navigates the circumstances to get you back on track, and lead you to the doorstep of your destination. In most cases the recalculation takes place in a matter of seconds and, you are able to accept the new route and continue on your journey as you work to reach to your goal.
When you identify that you are off track for your personal goals, do you wait to get back on course? No. You typically would make the appropriate right, left, or U-turn to get you back on your journey, and continue with this course of action as it leads you to your destination.
So then why do some feel compelled to wait for a new year in order to change course? Most re-solutions don’t require putting a date stamp on the change that you need, nor do you have put a requirement of what the change has to be. As long as you know why change is needed and are focused on getting to your destination, then a change in route should be a welcomed experience.
My advise for you is to create re-solutions today, and everyday that you can. If you have identified that you are on the wrong course or have taken a detour in your quest for personal goal completion, you need to recalculate immediately as the time for re-solution is now. Why would you wait for a date in the future to get back on course, if you have identified that you were off course right now?
Our social conditioning allows us to perceive that change is hard, or that change is bold and that it will require much effort from us to do. The reality of change is that it starts in the mind with a decision to do something different with the direct intent of creating a different result. We change daily in the form of clothes, media outlets, and food choices, and when achieving a goal we should make the needed changes just as easily.
In order to make lasting change, it is best to start and work towards resolutions daily. Below are some thoughts on why you should develop a re-solution for your goals today.
Change has to happen today as there is no other time that it can be implemented
If you know the answer to a problem, then sitting on it untilt later is wasting time
If the solution is true then the sooner you implement the change the more return you will get. ROI – return on investment
If you don’t create a solution, you are likely will continue heading in the wrong direction away from your goal.
Focus on one problem and one re-solution
Make re-solutions everyday
Once you solve a problem, you are now an expert with experience on the subject matter and can be used to help others who are headed on similar paths.
Take small steps and celebrate the daily victories
Create accountability partners to help you stay on track
Follow the process – A GPS device is designed to hep get you to your destination
Remember the reason you established this goal
Referneces:
make the rest of your life the best of your life