The new year always brings talks of a New Year’s resolution. To make a resolution or not to make one. One side of the conversations loves them, the other side does not.

The one thing that can be agreed upon is that the new year can be a catalyst for change. If things are going to change anyway, why not change for the better and try to make a resolution that will actually get you somewhere.

It should be something that has the potential to make a meaningful impact on your progress as a human being. It should also be something that you can achieve. Unrealistic goals are a blueprint for failure.

I have only made one New Year’s resolution my entire life. Mostly I can’t wait for other people to fail with theirs so it is less crowded at the gym in January. This thinking I now realize is faulty and full of negativity. I should be encouraging people to keep up with their efforts to change themselves for the better. It is what I would want.

So, this year I am going to make a resolution again. It is going to be a resolution that will move me towards my goals at the bottom of my life plan. I also am going to support everyone in their resolutions with some strategies to get you all the way to the end of the year.

My New Year’s Resolution for 2018: READ 40 BOOKS

Keeping a New Year’s resolution for a whole year is hard. Most people fail before the snow melts. With a high failure rate, there needs to be a change in thinking to achieve what we want by year end. Let’s talk about how to keep it going all year.

There are strategies that we can use that will help set us up for success. Strategies that will keep us on track and help avoid quitting our resolutions. I think these are the three most potent…

1. Focused vision – When we think about what we want to improve in our lives there may be many areas we want to tackle. Just pick one. Some people say “I resolve to eat healthily, go to the gym, and run every day.” Forget it. It will fail. While it is tempting to want to improve many areas, if you are spread too thin you won’t accomplish anything.
2. Work in small, manageable pieces – A meaningful New Year’s resolution that will actually impact your life in a positive way is a huge undertaking. They may even seem scary (they should be scary to really influence change) but it can be accomplished if it is broken down into parts. Draw a chart of what needs to be done and split the task into its major components. Then split those components into smaller sections. Repeat the process until you have the most basic tasks. Then start completing them one by one. You will eventually achieve your goal through small victories.
3. Get back on track – If you find that you seem to be failing at your resolution, that’s ok. The most important thing to do is get back on track. Don’t give up completely, just start working again. One failed day or week or even month is not a failed YEAR LONG resolution. You may even go back and forth between accomplishment and failure. That’s ok too. Just start again, but this time a little faster than before. The key is to spend as little time as possible in the failure zone and getting back to the success zone as soon as you can.

A New Year’s resolution may be just the catalyst you need to break through to the next level. It can help give you that push you need to make lasting improvement. Don’t give up, work smart, and you may find by next year that you made it farther down the path to success than you thought you could.

CHRIS