Making Resolutions Work

Another year about to end and a new one knocking at the door, providing just the perfect setting to engage in few rituals and chief among them being, setting resolutions for the upcoming year. Don't so many of us engage in this process of making resolutions, in the hope of making the new year better (for us) than the last one ? Considering that we start with the right intention while setting resolutions, still so many of us fail to actualise our resolutions !

Let's first understand the importance of resolutions in our lives. If you believe in the concept of setting resolution then you already know that it could make or break the year for us. Resolutions are important primarily for the following 2 reasons

• setting the tone for the year ahead, especially in terms of our success and growth 

• providing direction for a focused approach thereby ensuring that our efforts and resources are well spent 

Imagine, how, in the absence of resolutions, we would just be trying to maintain our status quo and not make any attempt to move out of our comfort zone. Little do we realise that beyond  the comfort zone lies the zone of growth and development. Remaining in this  scenario is a sure shot recipe for disaster as all this ultimately leads to stagnation, which further builds in chaos, confusion and frustration in us. 

So, it won't be far-fetched to say that "Resolution" works as our "motivation"( whether through the force of "pull" or "push"), and ensures that we maintain the much required positive momentum in our life which leads us on path of success and accomplishment. Of course, there are many who don't believe in the concept of Resolutions and that should be okay as long as they take recourse to some other equally effective strategy/ strategies.  

The reasons for resolutions failing are plenty, so rather than delving into all those possible reasons, I, rather provide a peek into how to make resolutions work. Here are few simple tips for the same

• Be clear about how these "identified resolutions" would help you live the (big) purpose of your life. Clarity on the long-term impact of these "resolutions" would propel us to work towards "actualising" these resolutions. Visualisation or Writing is a good way to build this clarity, right before the start of the journey. 

• Don't go overboard in making resolutions. Making resolutions too ambitious in nature or making too many resolutions, only leads to making it quite an overwhelming task for us to attempt and/ or achieve them. 

• Stop treating "New Year's time" as an "Anchor" for making resolutions, as it puts us under tremendous pressure (to make resolutions) leading to stress. Remember, it's (New Year - 31 Dec/ 1 Jan) just any other date on the calendar and resolutions can be set at any time of the year, as per what suits us.

• Resolutions are "personal" and should only be set in context of our own self. Based on our expectations from the future and capabilities we possess, we should make the resolutions. If we let others be our frame of reference while making resolutions, then we are only going to set unrealistic resolutions that we don't feel passionate about. This will increase the probability of resolutions not actualised. So, avoid treating "Resolution setting" as merely a fad statement and go about doing it in a serious manner. SWOT Analysis is a good tool that could come very handy here.

• Resolutions can be set for multiple areas of our life. It always helps to be clear about where the gap lies so that we could address them. A good way to identify the gaps would be to take the Wheel of Life 

• Resolutions should only be perceived as a guidepost, to suggest us the direction to take. Resolutions are different from goals and the key difference between them is that we set goals only when we make/ set resolutions. It starts getting more specific as we move from Resolutions to Goals to Actions.

• Resolutions are not sacrosanct, in the sense that they can't be altered. Of course, i don't mean that we should be ready to drop the resolutions if we feel so. Rather what i mean is that we should be open and flexible to refine them (if a need arises) as we move on with the year. 

• "Actualising Resolutions" hold the key to derive the best from the year and this can be made simpler and easier by applying strategies that help us to prioritise, manage time/ task and create balance. You can refer to the following article to learn about many such strategies Beating Productivity Paradox      

• Having an accountability partner on this journey of accomplishing resolutions always helps in ensuring we get an outside perspective to things which can come in handy when we get stuck and need to take some corrective action to get back on track. This accountability partner could be either personal (friend, relative, spouse, sibling, etc.) or professional (coach,mentor, etc.)

The above are some of the key tips that help us create that much needed shift in our mindset and attitude, as we make a shift from Resolution to Action. Here's ending with a wonderful quote - 

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

It's time to GET-SET-GO on your RESOLUTIONS ! 

N.B. : The images used in this post are sourced from internet