Really, the quickest way to break your resolutions is to make them. I read an article about some research done in the UK which concluded that 88% of people break their resolutions within 2 weeks, and rest trickle off over time.
Do you really want to set yourself up for failure? If so, where else in life are you doing this? New Years resolutions are your own personal fail list. We’ve all done it before in good faith, however was there ever one that succeeded? Ask yourself the honest question, why do you still make them?
I stopped several years ago because I understood that if you want to do something, and you really did want to do it, then nothing would stop you from doing it, and nothing would be needed to motivate you to do it. You see, resolutions are kind of like a way to tell other people that it’s ok to fail, when really it isn’t.
It’s like saying, I’ll resolve to quit smoking, but if you don’t it’s ok because everyone fails at their resolutions.
Why don’t you instead make a COMMITMENT.
Ooooh scary word. This is the word that when you can say it to yourself with clarity of purpose and true conviction, that you will get things done, and it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, the only person who will be the adjudicator of your success, is yourself.
Commit yourself to doing something and make it certain. That’s the only true way to life success and achieve those things which you really truly want in life.
I know even saying all this, some of you will no doubt go ahead and still make them, thinking that you’ll be the exception, you’ll be the one who makes it. Sometimes you gotta stop listening to your own self and hear it from other people.
It reminds me of a game we played at Billionaire Bootcamp where the game was about how to create business deals via contractual arrangements. The whole idea was to make contracts with one person in order to win the game, this person was Clinton. Throughout the game, there were 6 tables on the sides of the room which represented things like Marketing, Sales, Distribution etc, all elements of business operations.
People were queuing up to get help and hints from these tables. However this was just a red herring designed to throw people off the real objective of the game. Half way through, Clinton gets up and shouts out that he’s the only person that matters in this game. He represented the market and the buyers. He even said, there was no need to queue, and said that if you do what everyone else does, you’ll get what everyone else gets as the result.
Winners don’t queue.
Guess what, when he restarted the game, it was the most incredible thing I saw, about 75% of the people in the game, WENT BACK INTO THE QUEUES!
I couldn’t believe it. Our team figured out within 10 minutes that it was all about contracts written out with Clinton. Why do people behave like this? I really don’t know, perhaps it’s due to sheer stupidity, or maybe they keep on thinking they know better.
Why do people always think they know better? If you are a guru in your field, having spent at least 10years perfecting your art or skills, then perhaps you do know better, but in everything else, shouldn’t you go and get help?
One of the most common things I hear is that parents think that by virtue of having a child, means they know how to parent!!! NO, go study it, you don’t know how to parent because you haven’t read enough about the dynamics of psychology to get it. There are parenting courses and there is absolutely no shame in getting help.
Look, I’m not preaching to impress anyone here, all I’m saying is, if you ever want to succeed, go and find experts and role models and learn from them. I know I did, and it was one of the best moves in my life.
Make this change today, if you don’t use me as your coach, go find someone else, but don’t think you’ll be fine without one.
I went off on a tangent there! Ok, If you REALLY REALLY still insist on making some sort of resolution, (please call it a commitment), then don’t use the word TRY in your statement. TRY is also a presupposition to failure. You don’t try to brush your teeth in the morning and you don’t try to make a cup of coffee, you just do it. I’ve made it a habit to eliminate the word try in my vocabulary, and that’s my one piece of advice for you, going into 2010, don’t try, just do it!