It's that time of year. We're approaching the end of 2019, and the buzz of resolutions are resounding. Especially this year as we enter a new decade. The chatter is loud as people proclaim that THIS is going to be the year they lose weight. Or THIS is going to be the year they start that business, and so many other resolution. The questions fly, so what's your resolution this year? Everyone gives their answers of new diets and next great idea inventions, or MLM opportunities, or whatever. It gets around to me. My turn to answer, and every year it is the same. And every year is an answer that shocks people. Something they just can't wrap their minds around, so they either look at me with their mouths wide open to the ground not knowing what to say. Or, better yet, they give me the look of "poor thing" and say "oh" in a patronizing tone.
So what it my answer that causes so much confusion? I don't have any resolutions. I don't make them. I'm sure you are thinking. "Wait… what? But, you always have goals your working towards, you are a driven entrepreneur. I don't get it". But that's just it. You just answered your own question.
Still confused? That's ok. Most people are. When there is something I want to do, I don't wait, I take action. And I don't talk about doing it, I just do it. Then I talk about either what I'm doing in the process, or the results of the actions I've already taken. You see, there are a lot of people talking about making changes, but that's all the further it gets. They are far too busy talking about it to actually do it. They want to make themselves look good, but then when it comes time to put in the work, they either quickly give up, or decide it's too hard before they even start. That's why you see so many resolutions fail before January is even over.
To accomplish the thing you set out to do 3 things need to happen for it to be successful. 1. small goals need to be set and build on those. Example… people set the resolution to start a diet and go to the gym on January 1st so they can loose 30 lbs by March. They are already off to a bad start. Why? Its too big to wrap your mind around of. You go to the gym for a week, step on the scale, and not only did you not loose weight, you GAINED weight. It's discouraging. Then they think, why bother and stop trying. But if instead, you set a goal to go to the gym 3 times the 1st week for 30 minutes, and don't look at the scale. Because, you WILL gain weight. Muscle weighs 4x as much as fat, so if you haven't been working out, that 1st couple of weeks, you are sure to gain weight. But then at the end of that 1at week or 2, set a new goal. Now you go to the gym 3 times a week for 1 hour. The next week, do the same, but lift heavier weights. And you keep building on that. That number on the scale will reflect the work you're putting and and will go down, because you've set smaller goals that aren't overwhelming and you can be successful. 2. If you fail, get back up. So often people fall off the bandwagon 2 or 3 weeks into their resolutions, and that's it. They've failed and it's over. When really, they were just beginning. Havin a day or a week where you didn't accomplish your goals means nothing by the time a year has past. Unless you choose not to get back up. If you don't, that's when you stay exactly where you are at and didn't make it past January. The next year you look back and you're like, well, that was another year of failure, I just can't achieve that goal. But if you get back up, no matter how many times you fail, that's a different story. You will be in a totally different place this time next year. Those times you failed will have taught you something. And even if it doesn't seem like it moment to moment, when you look back on the year, you will see how you made the positive change you wanted and you're now on the path you WANT to be on. 3. Be willing to put in a lot of hard work. Accomplishing that goals sounds like a pretty thought. But then you start working on it, and at some point it gets hard. You have to decide whether or not you're willing to do that work to accomplish the goal or not. That's why so many people are sitting around "wishing I could loose weight, but I can't". That's not the truth. The truth is, they don't want to add more healthy foods to their diet, or take away more of the less healthy foods, or they don't want to work out 5 or 6 days a week. They want some magic pill or secret that will make them loose weight in an instant. That's not the way it works. Now, their could be some emotional thing holding you back from doing what you set out to do. But that's a different story, and I talk about that in a different blog- "Unmotivated and finding the drive anyways".
So, there's the basics of how I achieve a goal. But, that still doesn't explain why I don't set New Years resolutions. It's because I've never understood why I would wait. If I want to do something, I just do it. Why wait until January 1st? I often see people waiting on only making resolutions January 1st, and not doing it the rest of the year. But the thing is, to accomplish goals, we have to practice reaching them. It's hard work to get to a goal. We would never go to the gym January 1st, and no other day of the year, and try to lift the 600lb barbell. It won't work. We'll just fall on our face or strain something, or worse. So, why would we think only setting goals on January 1st would be any different. Seems silly when put that way right? Just like you have to start with 50lbs and the barbell, or maybe not even that much, maybe just the bar, then work up week by week, month by month to the 600lbs. Goal setting works the same way. Learning how to get through the pain of disappointment when things don't go as planned and it takes longer to get there. Learning how to set small enough goals to achieve them, but not so small that you don't feel accomplished at the end. And all of the other things that go into it, take time to learn how to do and build on. So we have to practice regularly, and learn to get back up when we fail. Because sometimes that shame thing kicks in when we fail. But it's ok to be human. Lets stop judging our self so harshly and just pick it back up instead. The other thing is, people often wait until New Years to make resolutions because it's like, oh, it's new years, I now have permission to start something new. But let me tell you something I've learned, you don't need permission to make a decision or to take action. It's ok to just do it!
Leave a comment, but clicking right below the date, and let me know what your decision is now. I'm excited to hear! :-)