New Years Resolutions

Here we are one month into the New Year and yet some of us have already both proclaimed our New Years Resolutions and broken them as well.

Although I had a pretty good idea why most people didn’t keep their promises to themselves to lose weight or find a better job, or get in better physical shape by exercising regularly or any number of other resolutions, it only occurred to me recently one of the major flaws in our ability to keep these promises.

Right after the new year, during a training session by my friend, business associate, and our team mentor, he mentioned that he had given up making resolutions some years ago as they rarely were accomplished. Coming from someone this successful, this statement came as a surprise. He then went on to say he had replaced his resolutions with a simple business practice, one that made sense but still didn’t explain why Resolutions were so hard to master and be successful in completing. His practice was very basic and simple, To ask himself every day, “What can I do today to be productive that will move my business forward.”

I contemplated on this for a couple of weeks until last week, when I stumbled upon a poster displayed in a classroom where I occasionally substitute teach. The answer I had been searching for finally suddenly occurred to me. My Mentor had discovered the answer but his message was not as apparent or profound as the statement made by the poster.

The poster was entitled “The Top 10 New Years Resolutions For Business Success”. After reading the top ten list, I had the “Why” I was looking for.

The New Years Resolutions we aspire to are usually stated in the form of a goal or end result. That is the problem. New Years Resolutions in the form of an end result usually do not include a specific course of action needed to achieve our desired goals, resulting in abandonment due to lack of progress. Resolutions should be stated in the form of an action to be taken on a regular and consistent basis to successfully achieve our desired results.

Here are the Top Ten New Years Resolutions For Business Success.

1.) Learn How to Delegate and Do More of it.
2.) Promote Your Business Regularly and Consistently
3.) Make Business Planning a Weekly Event
4.) Learn Something New.
5.) Join a Business Organization or Networking Group.
6.) Give Something Back To Your Community.
7.) Put Time for You on Your Calendar.
8.) Set Realistic Goals.
9.) Don’t Make Do – Get a New One.
10.) Drop What Not Working For You and Move On.