I absolutely hate New Year’s Resolution articles. The web this past week, and I’m sure the week coming, has been plastered with stupid ideas for stuff we should change about ourselves. So I feel embarrassed that “New Year’s Resolution” is even in the title of this article.
I promise you’ll see tons of “Top Ten Lists” for New Year’s Resolutions. Totally random stuff about losing weight, hitting the gym, eating right, fixing our relationships, crossing things off your bucket list, and getting your finances in order. That’s fine and dandy. If you love New Year’s Resolutions, and they work for you, then please, have it! Also, comment below that they work for you because I don’t have any friends that say New Year’s Resolutions work!
I’ll jump straight to my point: with the New Year upon us, it’s not time to start a trendy Resolution just because of a date change. Gorging on fried chicken and Advent candy all December while anticipating an easy change in January to incinerate your fattiness really doesn’t cut it. Deciding that overnight you’ll fix your life may not help you on January 1st.
New Focus for a New Year
Here’s what I do think will help you rather than the typical New Year’s Resolution: having a new focus for a New Year. Sitting down and thinking:
- “What do I need to change course on?”
- “What do I need to spend more energy on?”
- “What do I need to give more of myself to?””
I believe that asking—and answering—these questions will help give us more energy and resolve to pursue the growth and development that change requires.
This may not seem far different from New Year’s Resolutions.
Here’s how it differs: People make trendy lists and quick decisions on how they want to change. Maybe they actually made a New Year’s Resolution to train harder, get smarter, lose weight and such way back in November. But they’ve waited an entire month to activate their “resolve”. Don’t wait. Think, decide, act.
What is it that you need to focus on this coming year? To give yourself to in a greater way? Is it:
- Family
- Friends
- Physical Training
- Wiser Eating
- Wiser Spending of Time
- How you want to develop yourself
- Growing/Advancing at Work
- Refining a Skill
Whatever it is, it will require resolve to pursue. But what you’ll need to do is focus in, laser in, zero in on whatever that is and really give more of yourself toward it. Do you know what else it may take? It may take you giving less of yourself to something else.
I hope you Fearless Men and Women out there have a year of great advancement and growth. Changing and shaping yourself doesn’t happen on accident-but on purpose. If you make any “New Year’s Resolution” today, let it be of having a sharp focus and plan on what you want to do different!
I love the idea of a New Years Focus. Most people will fail at their new years resolutions within the first month. A New Years Focus can be something you want to work on. Just because you slip up doesn’t mean you automatically fail
That’s a good way of stating it. It seems like people come out striking the iron on January 1st, but if they slip up on the resolution, they get discouraged. Whereas with a focus you keep charging fwd and cultivating it regardless of a slip up.
I don’t like resolutions either, but I do like this time of year as it gives a good stopping point to analyze how things have gone and what you’d like to do different going forward.
We reanalyze things every month though but at the beginning of each year focus on the bigger picture overall.
I think it’s a great idea for people to really map out a plan for the coming year. I usually do it as a part of my own fiscal rather than calendar year.
My birthday is in January, so by nature I do end up being more introspective around January 1 anyhow!
Just like any goal, the key to a successful resolution having a plan instead of just saying you want to do something.
If you fail to plan you plan to fail!