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Wednesday Wisdom Vol.2, Iss 1

“New Year’s resolutions rarely work, because good intentions don’t often survive a collision with reality.”

I read that quote by Seth Godin on New Year’s Day. Talk about discouragement. After reading it, my immediate reaction was to disagree, ultimately followed by admission. Perhaps Mr. Godin is right.
I am not a statistician, but it is reasonable to believe that a large percentage of those who make New Year’s Resolutions will find themselves vowing to the same things at 11:59pm December 31, 2013. If that were not the case, Weight Watchers and many self-help services may soon be out of business. If the redundancy is inevitable, why bother? I believe the answer is in the old adage that without vision, people perish.

Discipline and fortitude were two skills that I learned in 2012. Thus, for the first time in a long time, when the clock struck midnight New Year’s Eve, I felt relief and not disappointment or regret. Instead of agonizing about the what-ifs, I was celebrating meeting outcomes, and getting ready for the challenge of new goals. The secret was not in a magic potion or a drastic change in my circumstances, just three small habits that proved to make a big difference.

1. I wrote down my goals, and I held myself accountable to them. When I speak at workshops, I usually encourage attendees to write their vision and hang it up in plain sight. It is nearly impossible to ignore a reminder on your refrigerator, or on your bathroom mirror. Hold yourself accountable to your goals by never allowing them out of your sight.

2. I recruited. There are some who will support your ideas, and others who will not rest until their doubt becomes your doubt. Let those people go. If you allow those people to continue to influence you, the process of undoing the damage will demand time that will take away from achieving your goals. Be purposeful about building (and maintaining) relationships with people who are constructive and will support your goals.

3. I took action. Nike has one of the best slogans around: “just do it”- three simple words that separate the successful from the unsuccessful. When I started my new consulting business, I spent months in silence planning. On New Year’s Day, I emailed friends, associates and anyone that may be remotely interested about my new business. I did that because I did not want to put off until tomorrow what I was able to do that day. Another reason was that exposing my idea in that way held me accountable to do what I said I would do. My email generated questions, which allowed me to tweak and improve my idea.

As I reflected on my personal and professional pursuits over the year, it was clear that not all of my goals were met. As an entrepreneur, I now appreciate that. To meet all of my goals means that things are too easy and there is less incentive to work hard, be creative, network and collaborate.

Over the next few days, as you think about your New Year’s resolution, I suggest you think with a dose of reality, but with an equal amount of optimism that what seems arduous is very much possible, as long as you are willing to put in the work!