Resolutions Are Just Goals With Party Hats On

Experts say that 75% of people who make New Year's resolutions break them by the end of the first week. WHY? Those same experts say it's because most resolutions aren't specific enough. I say it's because most resolutions made in the afterglow of New Year's celebrations are just goals with party hats on them. Meaning they have no meaning behind them.

Do you set goals and achieve them? Regularly? If you do you're in the minority. Most people don't even try and those that do often find the same big goals festering on their list for a long time without ever being accomplished.

How is it that successful people seem to be able to set and achieve big goals routinely? What do the 1% do differently? Here's a clue. Do you have a "to-do" list? Do you have any problems with getting the items on that list accomplished? Maybe not as fast as you'd like, but they all get done, right?

Now think about the way your mind views a goal (or a New Year's resolution) versus a "to-do" item. The big difference is confidence - no matter what the "to-do" item is, you know it has to get done and you can figure out how to do it, even if it means that you have to get help. So you mentally make a plan and start work. And it gets done.

You can have stuff on your "to-do" list that you don't have all the information you need to accomplish. Getting the information just becomes part of the task. This is exactly how successful people deal with goals. Instead of seeing them as overwhelming "pie-in-the-sky" visions, they simply become an item on the "to-do" list. They make a plan and get to work, because they believe they can get it done. And they generally do.

Forget Auld Acquaintances? Never!

I'm not surprised at the number of people who are glad that 2009 is over--in fact, many of my Facebook friends are giving an upright single digit to the passing year in hopes of better days ahead. Me? I got no complaints.

Don't get me wrong--I have plenty of reasons to curse the past 12 months and wish them good riddance. The financial crisis alone gave me fits in 2009. I had to step down from the last job I ever thought I'd have and was laid off from the next job 7 months later. I've been unemployed for three months and have been forced to take extreme legal measures to save my house and my sanity. On the surface, 2009 was a suckfest.

However, the suffering also provided opportunity. My faith took a substantial boost and my spiritual relationships are stronger than ever. I cleared out the cobwebs of complacency and started focusing on substance rather than success. Thoughts and actions are clear and precise with the wisdom that can only be obtained from a kneeling position. Forget this past year? Never! I'd rather remember 2009 for the necessary process of forging me into a stronger man, a better friend, and a more patient servant.

For everyone who can't wait for this past year to be over and done with...just remember that, in the midst of all the chaos, there were moments of beauty, grace and profound reason that planted the seeds of future success. Be grateful for the challenges in 2009 that made you smarter and more resolute--and be mindful of what memories of this past year that may someday strike a happier chord.

Bless the old and welcome the new. Happy 2010 to all!!!