How I Failed 2018

You’ve heard us say it before, “Don’t make a resolution, make a decision”. Studies have shown that more than 90% of New Years Resolutions will fail. Studies also show that writing down your resolution gives you an 80% greater chance of reaching your goal!

Through a series of podcasts and other research I was ready to commit. Rather than saying “I would like to” I wrote “I will”. I broke out my goals by category and had five goals per category. I was going for it all and couldn’t be more excited! Here was the most difficult last step…..

We were instructed to share our goals with someone else. Doing this gives you a sense of ownership, and accountability. I had some pretty personal stuff on there that I’m not super comfortable with everyone knowing, so I just casually and quickly shared it with my wife.

They were hanging up in my bathroom so I could look at them every day. Going goal by goal asking if I’ve taken steps towards this goal. The answer is yes or no, no maybes allowed. We had some relatives come visit who would be using that bathroom so I took it down. I never hung it back up. And here I am sitting at 1/20 on my goals.

Why did I fail?

I fell victim to the emotional rush of a new year. I was overly ambitious without actually committing to it internally. I was scared to fail, so I didn’t want anyone else to know what those goals were. Some of my personal goals of things I wanted to STOP doing, I didn’t actually want to stop doing all that badly so I wasn’t fully committed. If at this point now you’re super curious what those things were of mine you can stop guessing. That’s my business and not yours. Focus on the story.

6 Ways to CRUSH your 2019 goals!

1. Whatever goals you made a few months ago re-visit them.
   1. New research is showing its best to set your yearly goals around March. Less holiday craziness, things have settled back down, more time to reflect.
2. Have a big picture for things you want to stop
   1. Everyone wants to stop being a bad friend, stop drinking, quit smoking, stop eating fast food. You aren’t special. That’s all of us.
   2. What makes some succeed and others don’t is they know the big picture at hand. If smoking costs you $5/day they know it costs their family $1,825 per year. They’ve already picked out the family vacation or the new car they’re going to use that money towards. If they struggle with anger, they’ve thought long and hard envisioning the worst case scenario how this could effect their marriage and future kids. Don’t just say you want to stop, UNDERSTAND why you need to.
3. Categorize!
   1. Pick 3-5 different categories. This allows your goals to get really personal and a little more fun. Things like weight loss and drinking less are important, but adding in the goal of wanting to spend more time with family or take three vacations sweetens the deal.
   2. My personal categories are as follows, with examples
      1. Physical
         1. I will weigh less than ____ pounds
         2. I will be under ___% body fat
         3. I will floss my teeth once/week
         4. I will be able to deadlift over 400lbs
      2. Spiritual/Mental
         1. I will go to church or watch a sermon once/week
         2. I will meditate at least once/week

• Nutrition
  1. I will go out to eat only once/week or less
  2. I will eat breakfast 3 out of 5 work days
  3. I will only have a beer on the weekends

1. Professional
   1. I will have a deeper relationship with my staff
   2. I will read 5 books this year
2. Family
   1. We will have family game night once/week
   2. We will have a date night once/month
   3. I will have a stronger and deeper relationship with my husband/wife
3. Be Specific!
   1. These have to be measurable. It can’t be, well, ummmm, I think my family is more unified?!? It needs to be something you can measure. (ie. I will read more vs. I will read 5 books this year)
4. Look in the Mirror!
   1. You need to look at these goals! Daily.
   2. It’s a Yes or No. Read them through each day and answer honestly. You either took steps towards fulfilling it or you didn’t.
5. Find Accountability
   1. You need to share them with someone. Have a friend/co-worker/spouse/etc do the same thing
   2. Most important step here, you need to then talk about it together. Don’t just bury it back under the rug! Talk together how you’re doing and how they can help you