Starting 2023 Right: Ditching the New Year's Resolution!
I certainly understand why you might be confused by this newsletter’s title, but that is exactly how I am approaching my goals for 2023. I am not making any New Year’s resolutions.
Resolutions tend to be pass-or-fail assignments that are limited in scope and complexity and randomly set by a calendar date rather than by a practical stage of preparation. For instance, the typical goal of losing so much weight is doomed to fail when the starter pistol goes off in the middle of a season of large meals, lots of sweets, and shorter daylight hours that make it hard to exercise. And the measure of this resolution’s success is strictly defined by a scale and limited by many factors—genetics, age, etc.—that are outside of our control.
Rather, wouldn’t the goal of improving one’s health be more accessible? Step one would be to decide what I can do to improve my health (take more vitamins, cut out red meat, or start Pilates). Step two would be to make arrangements for that adjustment (buy the vitamins, decide what I will substitute for red meat, select a Pilates studio). Step three would be to begin to implement the adjustment, with a plan to move forward when I have a step backward or relapse (step four). Most of us are barely at step one when the new year begins but expecting the success that comes with step four.
So, I’m thinking, let’s ditch the failure-prone resolutions and start creating lasting change!
Last month I put forth what change I would like to see for myself in 2023: I want to put more time into training others and delegating some of my tasks. Admittedly, I am in the early stages of contemplation, not the later stages of action. I know why I want to implement this change: for a better work-life balance; to create a healthier Camelot Moving & Storage, and to develop a stronger, more effective workforce at the company. I also know why I resist the change: what if they don’t do my tasks exactly the way I do?! (Of course, they won’t. It is silly to expect our staff to do things exactly my way.) What if they don’t do my tasks as well as I do, making mistakes along the way? Or worse, what if they do them better?! Really, how bad a consequence is that!
I know the change. I know the impediments (doubts and self-sabotage). Rather than jumping into stage four when I am at stage one, I am going to spend the next few months contemplating and designing a plan to implement this change. I will give you an update in April on my progress! I hope to be ready for step three by that point!
Will you join me? What changes—personal or professional—do you want to implement? Why? What have you done in the past that has stopped your progress? Don't get ahead of me now! We'll compare notes a couple of newsletters down the road in April.