I am pretty sure that the only New Year’s resolution that I have ever truly kept was when I resolved never to make another New Year’s resolution. I can unequivocally say that I have kept that one! I am not a believer in resolutions, but I am a big believer in goal setting. In his seminal work “Good to Great”, Jim Collins espoused the concept of BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). I am not necessarily a fan of that acronym, but I am a huge believer in setting big goals and developing a plan for achievement.

So, it’s already January 22nd. I postponed this post so that I could see whether my hypothesis was correct. So…If you made a New Year’s resolution, are you still on track or is it already in the rearview mirror?

By almost any measure, New Year’s resolutions fail…and fail fast. Statistically, only 8% of those that make a change commitment at New Years are successful. So, what happens with the 92% that fail?

Without genuine internal commitment to change, few have the discipline to adopt a strict change regimen for the 21-60 days that it takes for a behavior change to become a habit. So, the start of a new calendar year often isn’t enough of a catalyst to be completely determined to make a meaningful life change. If it is truly a change that you want to make, why wait until the new calendar shows up? Having resolve and making resolutions are two very different things.

There are few other ways that can help you get into that exclusive 8% club.

One of the ways that people set themselves up for failure is by trying to tackle too many things at once. Let’s face it…change is hard. Trying to make one significant life change at a time is difficult to manage, so trying to make several or many almost guarantees failure. Choose one, maybe two really meaningful changes that you are genuinely committed too, and then move to step 2…the plan.

Going into a change without a plan adds substantial risk to success. I focus on two things that I know must be addressed in my plan, which I call “triggers” and “barriers”. Triggers are situations and behaviors that you know will imperil your goal. Trying to quit smoking, but you know that if you go to the bar with your friends that smoke will trigger your old behavior? Have a plan to avoid that situation. Barriers are the things that prevent you from achieving your objective. As an example, I won’t exercise if I haven’t actually put it on the calendar in a time that I know that I can honor, and I know that if I put it off until the end of the day and my run is competing with a glass of wine…let’s just say that the run doesn’t always happen.

Once you have pared down your target list, it’s time to get SMART.

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time bound

These are the foundations of effective goal setting. Without employing this framework, you might have wishes, hopes, and dreams…but you don’t really have goals and tangible objectives. In his seminal work “Good to Great”, Jim Collins espoused the concept of BHAG’s (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). I am not necessarily a fan of that acronym, but I am a huge believer in setting big goals and having a SMART plan to achieve them.

The good news is that New Year’s Day is in the past, so any goals you set right now aren’t really New Year’s resolutions. They are carefully considered lifestyle changes that are achievable with the right planning, motivation, and discipline!