I am not a huge fan of resolutions…
Resolutions fail. You know this. I know this. The gym knows this on January 15. The scale knows this by March 1. There is nothing wrong with resolutions inherently. But often they are doomed to fail. They make us feel good when we write them or vocalize them, but deep down we know that go to the gym more or lose weight aren’t going to be sustainable.
We need something more concrete…
We need a reframe and we need to be more specific. How will we know if our resolutions have worked? Try these subtle but significant changes-
Go to the gym becomes go to the gym three times per week with cardio two days and weights the other days
Lose weight becomes lose 6 pounds per month after consultation with a dietician and workout plan with a personal trainer.
Be a better friend becomes reaching out via text once per week to all my friends to check in on them.
I don’t know about you…
But I have given up on resolutions. I am becoming a bigger fan of sustainable change. I want to set goals for myself that are likely to still be in play at least three months from now. Then I do a quarterly evaluation and tweak, adjust, pivot, or completely rewrite. All we are really doing in life is running experiments. We try something, see how it works, and either keep it, scrap it, or adjust it.
Here’s 5 things I will be working on in Q1…
1. Be real honest with myself about my reserves- I will regularly check in with myself using the framework from
That Dam Analogy. I will quit lying to myself. If I am a 4, I will take steps to refill and move towards a 6 or 7. Gone are the days of pretending to be a 7 when I am a 2. Ask me how I know… I have done the research. It doesn’t work.
2. Quit being so hard on myself- If I wouldn’t expect it from someone else I will try to not expect it of me. We have all done it. We load ourselves with burdens and expectations that we would never ask of someone else. This is the year I will intentionally choose kindness to myself. That includes allowing time for rest. Specifically one half day (4 hours) of quiet and reflection each month.
3. Widen my vision and perspective- Narrow is way of world. We focus on the few inches directly in front of us and how everything affects us. I want to zoom out and see bigger picture. The world is bigger than the little dots we care about. This is one of the reasons I LOVE being a pilot. I can get above the world and see it from a different perspective. What if you tried to see the world from a different perspective? Switch up your routine. Go up in a tall building, fly somewhere and look out the window, step back and observe. The world is much bigger than our stuff!
4. Gratitude every single day- I will write down at least three things I am grateful for every single day and more when time permits. I will do a gratitude exhaustion list each quarter where I think of every possible thing I am grateful for. Gratitude is huge for a healthy mindset.
5. Surrender every single day- One of my favorite lines I have heard this year is this- Father, into your hands I commit… I am including this in my journal every day to list the things I am holding onto outcomes that I need to surrender to the ONE who knows the outcomes. I have been doing this for 2 weeks and the initial results are significant. This list helps me have less anxiety. And who doesn’t want that?
So how about you?
What will your five be for January through the end of March? Just five things you want to experiment with. And then set a calendar reminder for the end of March to re-evaluate and shake it up as needed. If you want another resource, check out this blog about outcomes and expectations. If you do nothing else in 2025, please choose to not be so hard on yourself. YOU are amazing. You have greatness inside of you. And I believe in you!
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