Get Rid of New Year’s Resolutions Once and for All
It’s scary to realize how much power we give to one day.
You don’t need a New Year or New Years resolutions to make a change.
In fact you should CAN, as in throw-it-in-the-trash-CAN your New Year’s resolution.
Why?
92% of them fail.
Ouch.
All you need is a Monday.
Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try. So dig in, it’s Monday y’all!
Success comes in the form of doing the little things right.
It is oftentimes straightforward and simple.
Grab a cuppa ‘jo and a sheet of paper.
Define Your Goals
Where do you want to be 1 week, 30 days, or 6 months from now?
Define your goals. Write. Them. Down.
Make a plan.
Break your goals down into simple, specific behaviors so you can work off your plan and not rely on your willpower.
The Power of the Checklist
The best way to develop a comprehensive plan time and again, no matter the mission, is to use a checklist. Naval aviators use checklists for everything, which ensures effective execution of even the most routine tasks: preflight, starting our jets, taking off, landing.
If you are not currently on track to hit your target, what are the steps you should be taking to get to your goal?
Write those down too. This is the beginning of your plan. Simple, but powerful, get this down on paper and keep it in front of you. Not tucked away or buried in an app on your phone. Not on some spreadsheet tangled up on your desktop.
All high performers have a plan. Successful leaders, athletes, business managers do not just ‘wing it’. They have a plan, identify obstacles or barriers that could get in the way and then they START TAKING ACTION.
Nothing gets done if you never move past the thinking-about-it, researching-it, I-should-do-it phase…
No more excuses.
Your mindset, your thinking, creates the life you have and the one you might have.
The reason so many of us place our hopes and dreams in a New Year’s resolution is that we’re hoping to form new habits. Something that will create a different outcome. A different life.
And we want to believe that it’s possible by simply making a New Year’s resolution.
But then we fail to make a plan, or consider barriers to our success. And it sucks up all of our mental energy leaving us exhausted and right back where we started.
Or worse.
Good habits are ‘mentally efficient’.
So how do we get to that place of achievement utopia?
Plan for Contingencies
As you develop your plan, consider the potential barriers to success. What are the roadblocks that could stand in the way of great execution?
Write those on the right hand side of your page, under the title ‘OTHERS’.
Don’t overlook this step, or think, “Nah…that’ll never happen to me.”
It’s the little things that get you, so make sure to work those ‘little things’, those ‘OTHERS’ into your plan. Acknowledge them so they don’t derail your plan.
Then start taking action.
Slow and steady wins the race
Be patient. Reaching your desired outcome will take time.
What’s important to you?
Today is Monday. It’s a new week, new start.
Get after it.
I hope this was useful, and helps kickstart your week. Do good work, and be fearless!
Carey Lohrenz is the author of the Wall Street Journal Best Seller “Fearless Leadership: High-Performance Lessons from the Flight Deck.”, a motivational speaker and leadership expert.
Carey has flown missions worldwide as a combat-mission-ready United States Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot. Her extensive experience operating in one of the world’s most challenging environments, an aircraft carrier, and her unique position as one of the first female combat pilots make her the perfect opening or closing inspirational keynote speaker for your corporate meeting or conference.
Carey graduated from the University of Wisconsin where she was a varsity rower, also training at the Pre-Olympic level. After graduation, she attended the Navy’s Aviation Officer Candidate School before starting flight training and her naval career. She is the mother of four kids, and is currently working on her Master’s in Business Administration in Strategic Leadership.
