Ditch resolutions and create a mission plan

BY RALPH BRYANT

What if I told you there is one thing that is almost guaranteed to fail, and yet billions of us do it every year? Yes! I am talking about New Year’s Resolutions. In fact, many resolutions will have been crumpled up into the garbage can by the time you read this in the middle of January. Is there a different way to set a course for 2021? Yes, and it’s a simple idea called mission planning.

But why do we create resolutions in the first place? Resolutions are not a new idea – the practice dates back over 4,000 years to the ancient civilization of Babylon as a way to ask the Gods to look favorably upon the upcoming harvest. (Babylon is in what would be modern-day Iraq – and yet another innovation created in Africa for the world to enjoy). Today, resolutions are about taking personal responsibility; about making exciting lists that ultimately fail. According to a study in U.S. News and World Report, as many as 80% of all resolutions fail. Worse, many of them fail before the end of March.

Why do we collectively obsess over something of our doing that is doomed to fail? With every changing of the calendar, also springs the possibility of hope. I can finally do the thing I have failed to do, over and over and over again. It is a fresh start, a clean slate. It is the same insanity that allows me every training camp to think that my favorite football team can make the Super Bowl, even though my 12-year-old son has never seen them in the playoffs.

For most people, the resolutions get discarded and tossed into the garbage with the rest of them. There is a greater concern for those that are vulnerable and already struggling with depression and anxiety during the holidays; feeling guilty for missing a resolution could be difficult for their stability.

Here’s why resolutions fail: they are not actionable. The resolution is the goal, sure, but it is not tied to a plan of how to achieve the goal. For example, if your resolution is “Put back on my skinny jeans,” there are no strategies on how to lose the weight so the jeans will fit. We get so excited about writing down the result we want, yet we do not focus at all on the behaviors that we need to change to get there.

Nonetheless, the opportunity to take stock at the beginning of the New Year is important. The practice is critical to both reflecting on the prior year, as well as setting goals for the new towards becoming a better you. Here is a simple way to create your new mission plan:

• Take a sheet of paper and draw a line down the center

• On the left side of the page, write “reaction” and on the right side, write “action”

• Recap 2020 on the “reaction” side. Take this moment to celebrate yourself for your accomplishments, as well as things that did not go as planned. Be as detailed as possible on the major moments of the year. If you’re thinking nothing went right in 2020, there is one thing that did: you’re still here

• On the “action” side, take an item from the “reaction” side and list as many goals as you would like to achieve this year. These should be both personal and professional goals. Dream big here, but make sure your goals are using the SMART system (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timed)

• Keep track of how you are doing by reviewing the plan monthly; celebrate any successes, check off your progress, and eliminate any items to which you are no longer committed

Every year, corporations present their mission plan for the upcoming year to their board of directors. Instead of resolutions this year, take that same initiative to create your mission plan for where you were, and importantly, where you want to be.