So are you one of those who like to get a head start on the new year? Perhaps a bit obsessive about setting goals early? Or maybe the thought of shopping for those last-minute Christmas gifts pushes you to sit back down and knock out some new year resolutions?
Whatever the reason you have for skipping the shopping list and starting on your 2023 goals, it’s a great time to reflect on how you’ve been doing each year with those resolutions. Do you feel pretty confident? Or are you setting yourself up again for defeat?
Leadership guru and best-selling author Michael Hyatt has some timely advice to help you set a bold, but realistic agenda for 2023 that will take you to the next level of living and working. He starts with these nine realities that often sabotage our resolutions:
- Doubt success is possible. One of the most critical aspects of success is believing it’s possible. But often, we don’t, especially with resolutions.
- Learn nothing from the past. Sometimes we’re trapped in doubts about what’s possible because we haven’t really dealt with the past.
- Establish conflicting goals. Sometimes we have great goals, but they don’t really fit with our current reality.
- Stay inside your comfort zone. Most of us like to play it safe. Who wouldn’t? But when we set unchallenging goals, we’re almost sure to fail. Unchallenging goals don’t engage our creativity, resourcefulness, or persistence. And that means we don’t get far, no matter what goals we set.
- Avoid deadlines. This relates to No. 4. Nothing makes us more uncomfortable than a deadline.
- Set uninspiring goals. Sometimes we make resolutions that lack any intrinsic drive. Getting fit is great, but what if that by itself doesn’t sustain the necessary discipline?
- Go broad. The moment we get objective, we can feel boxed in. We sometimes like to leave things vague, don’t we? If we get clear on the target, we create the possibility of missing it.
- Don’t worry about your motivation. Other times we set our goals but don’t really think through why they’re important to us. Sure, getting fit matters. But why?
- Stay satisfied with the status quo. A lot of people never make progress on their goals because they’re satisfied with where they are, despite what they say.
Hyatt reports that some 150 Americans will set resolutions in the new year, but only about 8 percent will succeed. Ouch! There’s got to be a better way.
Click here to check out Hyatt’s goal-setting site for help in your new year!
