4 Big Reasons Why Your Resolutions Will Fail

Tis the season of grandiose promises for the New Year. Naturally, January is also the pre-cursor to six weeks later when all those goals fizzle away and most of us end up back in our same old habits.  Next year you’ll set similar resolutions that will be anything but resolute.  Rinse and repeat.

We all want positive change and to capture to our full potential.  The problem is, most of us set goals that are vague, vapid, and vulnerable. Then we wonder why they vanish with such striking consistency.  There are four big danger traps that trip up those idealistic resolutions for millions each year:

1.     Not linked to a greater purpose – Fitting into a pair of jeans just isn’t a powerful enough incentive to motivate you through life’s temptations.  Being healthy enough to attend your granddaughter’s wedding 40 years from now is a much stronger and more defensible vision.  The more your goals are aligned with your broader life’s purpose, the easier it will be to stay committed in the face of distraction.

2.     Lacking specificity – Making more money, getting in shape, and having better relationships are all nice platitudes.  Vague ideals sound good at cocktail parties but are impossible to measure and act upon.  Improving your income by 10% in 2013 or lowering your cholesterol by 30 points by June 1 are much more detailed goals and will allow you to systematically conquer your targets.

3.     No detailed game plan – Once you’ve locked down a goal that is specific and has a deadline, you can’t just ride the ‘white horse of hope’ and expect meaningful results.  What are the specific steps you need to take on a daily basis?  Starting with the end in mind, you need to build an action plan that has the specificity of asking Google Maps for driving directions.  It’s also mission-critical to log your activity and progress on a daily basis.

4.     No accountability – Your odds of success leap geometrically when you build in a system of consequences and rewards. For example, if you committed to read an hour each day but decided to watch the game instead, a consequence could be the requirement to donate $100 to a local charity.  The more specific penalties and rewards for keeping your commitments, the more they will manifest.  Also, make sure to seek help from others to hold you accountable.  Build a system you can’t cheat, and you’ll be well on your way to finally achieving this year’s objectives.

If it were easy, everyone would be successful.  In 2013, it’s time to take your game to the next level and seize the enormous opportunity that’s waiting for you.   Don’t let pitfalls that can be easily conquered hold you back.

Wishing you a safe, healthy, and prosperous 2013!

Read More

New Thinking for the New Era of Business

Albert Einstein famously noted, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.” In our post-COVID world of ...

When an Astronaut Needs a Pen

Ever get stuck on a problem, only to realize you're solving for the wrong thing? That's exactly what happened when the rocket scientists at NASA ...

How Shake Shack Drives Innovation

Do you prefer the crispy mozzarella, tempura watercress, and black garlic mayonnaise cheeseburger or the pumpkin mustard, bacon, cranberries, and sage hot dog? For something ...

Lady Gaga’s Secret to Creativity

Just before she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, I watched Lady Gaga dazzle the live audience with a pitch perfect performance of ...

Creativity: Does Size Matter?

For some reason, we’ve been taught that for creativity and innovation to count they need to have a magnitude the size of the 1989 San ...

The Lexicon of Creativity

There’s more confusion around the meaning of the word innovation than the chaos at the airline ticket counter after a cancelled flight. Is there a difference between ...

The Brain Science of Becoming More Creative

When we hear stories about iconic leaders like Salesforce.com’s founder Marc Benioff, or widely celebrated virtuosos like Lin-Manuel Miranda for that matter, we immediately think ...

Correct the Overcorrect

When the misguided leaders at Enron, Tyco and Worldcom committed fraud and marred their shareholders with huge losses, the Securities and Exchange Commission rightfully swooped ...

Learning to Color

Fact: Creativity has become the most needed skill in business. It’s gone from a nice-to-have to becoming mission-critical. Fact: Creativity is a learnable skill. All humans have ...