It is officially March 2019! Three months into the new year. How many of us made New Year resolutions? What were they? If you take a pulse check today, have you stuck to it? If not, do you know why? I’ll bet you I do!
I stopped making New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. The reason I stopped is due to a conversation I was having with an associate. We were talking about it, and he said to me. “I try not to lie to myself anymore.” That shattered my entire world. I thought. Is that what I am doing? Am I lying to myself? Wow, he is a Debbie Downer! That’s such a strongly negative way to look at it. Instead of taking the negative route I put my coach hat on and dissected it. Here is what I was able to discover.
My colleague moved the needle of my awareness; He also helped me to shape bite-sized realities for my teams and all of my clients both personally and professionally by following a little formula.
When we make resolutions, we are not lying to ourselves. They are always made with the sincerest and best of intentions. The issues pop up when these request we make of ourselves are completely unreasonable or vague which in turn makes them unattainable. No matter if the desire is to lose weight, get healthier, grow your business, be a better boss or leader, or snag a promotion.
If the ask of yourself it is too big, you will always start motivated and determined and fizzle out soon after. When you set an intention, it is not the resolution that you break; it is the habit you never formed which makes it impossible to keep the promise. What is the take away here?
Form reasonable habits. Instead of signing up for a half marathon, start with a couple of 5K races. Instead of setting a goal to lose 100 pounds in a year, perhaps 5 pounds a month. Communication challenges with your team? Instead of having full department meetings, maybe a few one on one sessions to try and get to the root of the issue. Doing this is a great way to get to know your team members and find out where the break down might be.
Then create some actionable items to help keep you accountable. Start small. This way there is a plan and perhaps another person who can help to keep you focused and motivated. Once you find yourself hitting the goals you set then good habits form and what do you have…. tada.. resolutions that have reached fruition! Less stress. Less pressure
Remember the only way to eat an elephant is one bite and a time.
Quackenbush Coaching LLC 