Most people think New Year’s resolutions aren’t effective.
Perhaps they are right, especially if they’re just something someone thinks up on December 31st, and then forgets by January 7th.
But that’s not how I use them.
What I do is twice a year—usually during the last week in June, and then during the week after Christmas—is to spend some time doing deep personal reviews in five areas:
- Purpose (My Mission)
- Principles
- Focus
- 5-Year Goals
- 1-Year Goals
I will then carefully write down and/or edit these lists until I feel comfortable with every word. I can’t emphasize enough the importance for me of writing things down. For me, if a goal isn’t written out and easily accessible for review, then it’s not a goal, it’s a musing.
These lists act as a compass for me. Every Sunday morning for years (going on ten), I will review these lists before updating my list of active and inactive projects. They help me prioritize my projects on a weekly basis, and they help me to say yes —and more importantly no—to any opportunities that come along throughout the year.
Keep in mind these lists need to be considered together dynamically. For example, if I have a 1-year goal to self-publish a small book about the definition of health, then part of my focus will need to be developing my digital platform, which may lead to a project such as taking an online course about LinkedIn.
Or, if part of my written personal mission is “Help my family live a joyful full life” (which it is), and I know my wife loves the challenge of horseback riding, then it makes it clear that I need to support her in this area anyway I can.
Now granted, I have other lists. Lists of ongoing projects, a running list of financial obligations, a fun list of weekly affirmations (“Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try” – Yoda), and a list of my week’s key goals. But these are mostly functional and fun.
The hard part for me —and for me it’s always the hard part that counts—is to first spend some time reflecting on my own mortality and then write out my life’s purpose as best know it at that particular time.
So, for the past decade, I have found the discipline of these bi-yearly deep reviews—of which my New Years’ resolutions—my 1-year goals entwined with 5-year goals, Focus, Principles, and Purpose—are simply invaluable.
Happy New Year.