You Say You Want a Resolution
by Dera DeRoche-Jolet

You say you want a resolution? Well we all want to change the world.
With apologies to the Beatles, resolutions are a lot like revolutions. With resolutions, there are changes or at least intended changes and often, when things don’t "come together" just like you wanted, your world seems to shatter.

Like a lot of you out there, I am not that fond of hearing about New Year's resolutions. I’ve made resolutions through the years only to fail before the end of January. Now that a couple of months have passed in 1999, I’m sure many of you have also come up short and have already given up. Come January 1, 2000, you’ll probably try again.

Part of the blame lies in the way the media has presented resolutions. They have focused on things we enjoy doing but need to give up like smoking, drinking and eating. While quitting something for health reasons is a good idea, let's face it, it's not fun to think about giving up what we enjoy. So let’s not talk about quitting things. Instead, let’s focus on doing more of the things you like to do and are good at.

First, let’s forget about resolutions, and emphasize goals. Failure seems so inexplicably tied to resolutions. When you fail, the resolution seems to be over - there’s no turning back. On the other hand, while no one likes failure, it seems to be an integral part of goals. You expect to fail and learn from those mistakes. Goals are something to look forward to and give us hope for the future (and they don’t seem to bite you when you mess up).

Think of scoring a football or a hockey goal. There is an exhilarating feeling when you reach your goal. If you miss, you’re still in the game, ready to try again.

Now lets look at some goals that you can get excited about. What did you do really well in your business life and in your personal life last year (and even this year so far)? Make at least some of them goals to continue doing. Look back at last year and how you accomplished getting those things done. Those are goals you know you can accomplish because you did them last year.

When I look back, I can see a number of things I did well. I learned last year how to organize my life so that my business life and my personal life are balanced and am bringing that forward to this year. While no one tells me when to work or what to do, I still need to remember when I should delegate (although I even got better at it last year). But my biggest problem has always been knowing when to stop working.

Maybe last year you spent more time with parents, your spouse or your children. Why not make it a goal to do that again? Maybe last year you walked to work or simply ate better. You felt better and even slept better. Think back, and whatever it is, and however small, do it again this year.

Of course, like most people, you probably have some goals that you have never attained, but have dreamed about reaching. Write those things down. Goals seem to happen when you write them down. Of course, you’re really putting your goals in front of you and simply taking your thoughts, ideas and desires and turning them into specific, doable things that you can achieve. Writing them down seems to make those goals possible and putting you a step closer to reaching that reality.

After you have one or more business and personal goals written down, look at what you already do. That will help you achieve those goals. Then, figure out how you can increase and/or improve doing them in a way that can help you can reach the hopes you have for your life.

You say you want a resolution? Well, by changing your thinking and setting these simple goals, you might just find your are a lot closer to your dreams by December 31, 1999.