It’s now January 10, 2018, and all of our New Year’s resolutions have been cast. The question remains…how many of these decisions will take shape to create lasting change in our lives?
The University of Scranton has gathered a few statistics on this topic and one of them is, “People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions.”
The key word in this statement is explicitly. Over the years, based on my experience and the experiences of my clients, when clarity and details are added to the desired change, it helps remove confusion and doubt when the path to change shows signs of being a challenge.
I’m all for eliminating confusion and doubt. How about you? Let’s start by understanding “the why” beneath your desired change. Knowing this is essential and will help keep you on the path when the going gets tough. Take a minute to recall your resolution…now ask yourself a few questions:
- Why do you want this change to happen?
- How will your life be different?
- Why is that important to you?
These questions will help you develop a deeper meaning and connection to the change you have set out to create. This will prove to be extremely valuable when the path to change begins to get bumpy and rough. Your why can serve as an anchor to help you avoid distraction and remain focused.
Adding details to the resolution will help you determine what the next steps will be. One of the most helpful details I’ve found is deciding upon a date for when this change will occur. Yes, pick a date and commit to it. I get it feels scary and uncertain. This is when all of the “what if…” questions and excuses arise.
I knew for a long time I wanted to launch my own coaching practice and I was very clear on my why, however I would find every excuse in the book to not commit to a date! Here’s a couple of my favorites, “It’s not the right time, the kids are in college” or “What if I don’t have enough clients?” So I would continue to plan some more without a drop-dead date and this choice resulted in waiting, waiting and more waiting!
It wasn’t until my Dad passed away that I truly realized time is non-renewable and if I wanted to make this change in my life I needed to pick a flipping date to make it happen! I picked the date, created a timeline filled with deliberate meaningful action steps and this choice resulted in me successfully launching my practice on that date.
That date was just over 4 years ago and I continue to add a date to every resolution, goal and intention that I set. Once I’ve committed to the date, I write it down. There is power in the written word as it demonstrates a new level of commitment to making the change.
Okay, review time…you say you want to create a change, maybe you want a new job or you want to become healthier or you want to grow your business to the next level, whatever the change is, now:
- Describe what the change is you desire
- Identify why the change is important to you
- Decide the date when you want the change to have occurred and feel what it will be like once it has happened
- Write your what, why and when down in black and white to demonstrate your commitment to change
You are now on your way! Maybe you’ve tried making a change in the past and it hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped. I absolutely love supporting people who are ready to make changes in their life and live full out. If you are interested in learning more about what having support through the changes you want to make, click here to set up a discovery session with me today to.