Yes, it is that time of year again; where we all head back to the gym, eat healthy, read a book, take a class, get more sleep, spend more time with family, and all those great things we set out to do at the beginning of every year. You know how it goes….for the first two weeks of the new year, you can’t even get on a piece of gym equipment, when you arrive at the athletic club. You wait two more weeks and your odds of getting on your favorite elliptical are doubled. You wait a full month and the gym is right back at its normal even pace.
What happens? Why is it that we set out, myself included, to meet all these great resolutions, only to have them fade away so quickly? Is it our lack of wanting it? Is it our lack of will power? Was it too lofty of a goal to begin with? Not realistic or attainable? Maybe, it is a little bit of each of these. Or, just maybe, it is more in the way we perceive goals and resolutions.
Think about the last time you set New Year’s Resolutions. How did you feel about them? My guess is you felt they were pretty good ideas and things you would really like to do. But how much commitment did you really have to them? In our society, we set goals all the time. Sometimes we hit them, sometimes we don’t. How does that make us feel? Usually, not too bad…we just set a new goal. We start over; no harm, no foul. It is just not that big of a deal; we will work harder next time.
In contrast, think of the last time you made a promise. “I promise I will get that to you, by Friday.” I bet you did everything within your power to make sure you delivered on your promise, by Friday. We almost always follow through on our promises. We feel differently when we make a promise to someone. It is a much deeper level of commitment. It is our reputation. We have to get it done.
So for this year, don’t make your ordinary New Year’s Resolutions. I want you to make a few good promises to yourself and see just how well it works.
Let’s make 2011 our best year yet!