Resolution. Repetition. Revolution.
2020. Almost Over. Can you feel it?
Right?
Like most of you, I’m looking ahead. To the horizon, to the new year, to the promise of ‘normal’, and to the opportunity for growth.
Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t left 2020 just yet. Because despite the wide range of emotions that this bizarre year has brought upon us, it can (and should) still serve as a grim reminder of just how precious this life is
And it is in this exercise, of simultaneously surveying the past and preparing for a purposeful future, that I…like many of you, have made some New Year’s resolutions.
The New Year’s Resolution! Is that still a thing?
Haven’t those become just a cliche?
Sort of feels like it. But why?
My best guess is as follows:
- They are often too grand. They’re too big, and to all but those who proclaim them…cause an instant eye roll.
- They are so rarely achieved, or frankly, even pursued. We’ve all been witness to the mass exodus from our local fitness club come mid-February.
- And yet, they are ubiquitous. They are everywhere. They are part of the fabric of our culture. They’re such a “given” during this time of year, that they have lost their novelty.
Oh, and one more… Most of us have actually made resolutions. Most of us have also failed in those resolutions. And most of us have participated in the eye roll.
They say that nearly 190 MILLION Americans will make a resolution this year. So most of us are just like…most of us.
New Year’s Resolutions have become, by definition, cliche.
But just when you may start to believe that this short article is meant to ‘poo-poo’ this noble societal institution, let me tell you this:
New Year’s Resolutions…are good.
The fact that they produce so many eye rolls, is a consequence of our approach. In my humble opinion. Or perhaps better said…in my 47-year-old-who-has-failed-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-and-over-to-maintain-resolutions-in-his-life opinion.
The problem, at least for me, has been my approach. I have too often focused on an outcome or an achievement. An outcome that was perhaps too lofty. Too ambiguous. Too far to the finish line. I have too often focused on the outcome itself, rather than the process required to achieve it.
So this year…my approach has changed. My resolutions for 2021, are based on process, not just outcome.
My resolutions are about routines. Small repetitions. Achievable actions. Mini-resolutions, if you will.
My mini-resolutions… those can be accomplished, and celebrated, each and every day.
Every day is an opportunity for victory. And those daily “wins” will stack and build and push me forward.
And more importantly, one day of failure cannot take those wins away.
This year my resolutions are based on repetition. And I believe that repetition will delivery my revolution.
Happy New Year.
