Bright Ideas # 59 – How to Turn Resolutions into Reality

Happy New Year!

I hope your holidays were filled with family, friends and fun. Mine were way too busy, but good. We flew cross country, rented a car, and proceeded to drive more than 2000 miles in two states to visit four sets of relatives.

As we were driving, I got to thinking about some of the New Year’s resolutions my family has made. And this year, I’ve decided I’m putting my foot down.

You see, I’ve decided to say a big, fat, NO to having any New Year’s resolutions at all.

Why, you might ask?

Because the bottom line is, resolutions by themselves don’t always work. At least not for me.

When was the last time you stuck to a New Year’s resolution past January, let alone for the whole year? Heck, a lot of people can’t even remember the last time they even took the first steps towards making their resolutions a reality.

The problem with New Year’s Resolutions is that they are just that—a resolution. You’ve decided that you want to achieve some goal. Like, say, lose 30 pounds. Or write a book. Or work less and play more.

Which is terrific! Unfortunately, most people don’t ever come up with a plan for turning their resolutions into reality.

They just set the goal and hope they miraculously reach it. Sure, sometimes a resolution might be all you need. But if not, you have a problem.

What happens when you don’t actually achieve your resolution? Guilt.

Whenever I used to make resolutions then not follow through, it ate at the back of my mind. Inevitably, each time, I’d feel just a little bit more like a failure.

Thankfully, many years ago I realized this was not a recipe for happiness or success. And I also figured out what to do about it.

I’ve found it takes a lot more than just making a resolution to create a permanent change.

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“A goal without a plan is nothing but a dream”
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If you want to make your dreams come true, you have to have a plan. And you have to take action.

Dreams don’t come true all by themselves. Neither do resolutions.

Even if you start out strong, without a plan and concrete deadlines it’s far too easy to find an excuse, or create a roadblock. Or simply put off for today what you can do tomorrow.

It’s also not hard to procrastinate or give up because achieving the goal just seems too darn difficult. But humans have an amazing capacity to change, adapt and overcome.

Think about the people who climb big mountains like Everest. Having been an avid extreme sports participant for almost half my life, I’ve had a chance to talk with quite a few successful mountaineers.

Personally, as much as I love hiking and backcountry skiing, I’ve never understood why they do it. Every single one of them will tell you that high-altitude mountaineering is a suffer-fest. Every step becomes agony the closer they get to their goal. Not to mention the fact that it is dangerous as hell.

So how do they do it? How do some mountaineers manage to summit major peaks time and again?

By approaching mountain climbing the same you should approach achieving any goal…

1) Create a plan
Mountaineers spend literally months planning food, logistics,
gear, their route, their possible summit dates and more.
Without all this planning they would never be successful.

Your goal may not be as extreme, but that doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t devote some time to writing out a plan for
reaching it.

2) Set smaller goals with deadlines
Just like you can’t lose twenty pounds or double your business
in a day, it takes time to climb a big mountain. And if your sites
are set only on the end goal it gets hard to maintain a positive attitude,
because the end goal is a long ways off.

It’s much easier, and more rewarding, to reach your goal in stages.
Mountaineers set a date to reach “base camp”, and another to go to
“camp 1”, and so on until finally they make one last push to the summit.
You can do the same.

3) Remember the down climb
Mountaineers always say it’s only a successful climb if you make it
back down. Just reaching the summit isn’t enough. The same holds true
for your goals.

Don’t just think about achieving your goals…Think about what you’re
going to do sustain them. Because although it’s great to lose 20 pounds.
That’s not nearly as wonderful, or as difficult, as keeping it off.

So this year, instead of making resolutions I say lets all set goals. Then write out plans to reach them.

You’ll be amazed at the great heights you can reach when you do!

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