January 2007

New Year's Resolutions

For most, the results are an annual joke.  Why is this true?  Ben Franklin offers a one-word explanation.

It's that time of year when we toast the possibilities and potential of a new year. A time for renewed determination for improvement.  A time to say to yourself, I want to make this a better year and I resolve to...

Before you do, make sure the Champaign has worn off and ask yourself: 

What really happened with my 2006 resolutions? 

Did I achieve what I set out to do?  Do I even remember what I resolved to do?

Did we achieve our 2006 business goals?  If not, why not?

If you're like most people, your resolve lasted less than three weeks. It frequently fades as we get sucked back into the same routines and habits of previous years.  This is a struggle for the ages as Benjamin Franklin defined it in the 1700s.

After a few years of unsuccessful attempts, many abandon establishing resolutions admitting: They just don't work for me.  Or they've become an annual joke that allows us to laugh off our lack of resolve and rationalize our state of insanity.

Why do so many achieve so few of their New Year's Resolutions?

• New Year's Resolutions are seldom, if ever, committed to writing.

• Rarely, if ever, is time invested to planning our achievements. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

• Resolution success requires changes in our habitual behaviors. Behavioral scientists tell us it takes a minimum of 21 days to establish a habit.  During that critical forming period, it only takes one day to falter.

• We allow outside influences to effect our internal resolve.  We don't hold ourselves accountable for our own success.

• We don't know how to take resolutions seriously. Our ego prevents us from seeking support or learning how.  New Year's Resolutions can become a superficial toy of prideful underachievers.

Ten Questions for Your 2007 Business and Personal Resolutions

1. In your personal life, professionally and in your organization, what do you have the potential to achieve in 2007?

2. Have you committed it to writing?

3. Will your resolve evaporate in three weeks, or are you willing to devote the time and conscious effort needed to develop productive new habits?  

4. Are you willing to methodically develop and work a plan to realize the rewards of your achievement?

5. If you don't take action with genuine resolve, will your situation be any different in January, 2008?

6. Turning resolutions into achievements presents a challenge for us all, particularly when we go it alone. What kind of support system have you developed?

7. Do you have someone that will support you and hold you accountable? Do you have a coach or mentor to help assure your short and long term goal achievement?  

8. Have you considered being a coach for others in your organization or family by encouraging their resolve for achievement?

9. Will you spend your 2007 working harder or working smarter?

10. What successes are you planning to celebrate next year at this time? 

If you're considering professional support to assure your success in 2007, your invited to discover the successes of our clients and contact us to discuss your goals in greater detail.  Our first discussion is free of fees, sales pitches and implied obligation.

Tom Lemanski of Vista Development serves as business catalyst and executive coach in the strategic development of SMARTer, executives, managers and  sales professionals.

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• Working SMART: Library of Congress ISSN 1551-4633

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