New Year’s resolutions are approached almost cynically these days. We all know that most people fail—it’s in the stats, okay? And with the most popular resolutions still being “get healthy,” and “get organized,” it’s almost like we didn’t learn much last go round.
And why would we? January isn’t exactly the best time to dedicate yourself to something new. You’re ripe off a month of indulgent behavior. You came up with your life-changing resolution in less than a week. It’s (probably) freezing outside. Your resolution might make your life objectively better, but is it something that you really want to do, anyways?
Maybe it’s time we throw all that away. Instead of making a commitment to accomplish something huge in 2018, why don’t we stop doing the things that are holding us back? By taking a second to identify the things that we shouldn’t be doing, we can be more intentional about our progress throughout the year. And while your anti-resolution resolution list might look a little more specific than this, here’s a few things to think about as you dive into the new year.
Stop saying yes to everything.
What? How can saying yes be a bad thing? True, it makes you look like a good sport—but people-pleasing isn’t always great for your personal or professional life. Volunteering for everything feels good, but it’s not realistic if you want to check some life goals off the list.
That list of tasks and people and favors piles up in the background. And unfortunately, they can hold you back from progress. By auditing your free time, you’ll realize that saying no to things that you just don’t have time for actually frees you to accomplish your goals.
Here’s a crazy, insane idea that’ll change everything: say no. Instead, be smart about collaboration to get yourself and your team to the next level.
Stop doing things the way you’ve always done them.
Are you resistant to change? Just because a process has always been done a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s the right way. But sadly many churches, companies and teams operate the exact way—by following outdated procedures because that’s the way they’ve always done it.
It will be hard to let go of the comfortable. It’ll take time to explore new options. But by assessing each process, you might find something new that’ll boost your productivity and impact on the world.
Stop finding excuses for yourself.
Why is it that while we all have 24 hours in a day, some accomplish much more than others? People often complain about not having enough time in a day to do everything that they’d like to. But if we’re honest, it’s typically because they aren’t prioritizing things well.
Whatever you truly care about, you’ll find the time for. You just have to decide that it’s a priority and then do it. Maybe that means you need to schedule periods of time on your calendar to make sure it happens. Maybe that means you do your most important task first every day. Maybe you need a planner. We all make time for the things we truly, genuinely care about. If it’s not important to you, you’ll find an excuse.