Why New Year’s Resolutions Suck!

It’s the start of Feb – I’m calling it the start of the Business New Year #letsmakeitathing

 

We all know the end of December into January is a time for rest, summer holidays and the Holiday season. Particularly here in Australia, many people will schedule their annual holidays at this time of the year. So many industries shut down, then throw in school holidays – it’s the perfect excuse for a few well deserved weeks off.

But once it’s over, there comes a time we have to switch back on, reboot the email and get planning for the year ahead – particularly when you run your own show.

So, when you are the boss, what do you do about your business ‘New Year Resolutions’? Do you even set any? 

How many times have you heard someone say ‘New Year’s Resolutions are a waste of time? They never work”. 

Way too many to count I’m sure. In fact, I’d guarantee that you have probably set yourself resolutions in the past that you’ve not seen into the start of February. 

Did that one hit a little close to home? Yeah, I bet.

But have you ever thought about why?

WHY?

New Year’s resolutions are a tradition for many people, but they often fail to bring about lasting change. The main reason for this is that resolutions tend to be vague and not specific enough. Not only that, they are often focused on a singular goal, rather than small gradual changes to your mindset, processes or daily habits, that, when worked on slowly and methodically, will have a higher chance of having lasting change.

Think about it, resolving to “gain more clients” or “have $10k months” is too broad and does not give you a clear plan for achieving your goal. Sure, they sound wonderful and most of us read multiple paid ads on our socials daily about every Joe Blow doing this (and they’re going to teach you how when you join their course), but these goals are too blasé and don’t give any clear structure or process to allow you to do it to any success.

In fact, studies have shown that 35 per cent of people said they failed to commit to their resolutions because they had set unrealistic goals.

33 per cent said it was because they did not track their progress and 23 per cent said they had forgotten about their resolutions altogether! 

Then there’s a small group who set too many resolutions – so I’m sure you can guess how that went.

So, why do we fail?

Lack of Structure

Let’s take the $10k months as an example. This is a great goal to have, but let’s be realistic – the money isn’t going to appear out of thin air is it?! 

In order to have a business that generates that kind of consistent income, you need to have plans, structures and marketing in place to allow for that income. 

There are so many moving parts to this equation – are you relying on a singular service? How many of these services do you need to book to bring in that amount of revenue? Do you have multiple offers, have you set up a funnel to bring your clients through your product offering, what does your marketing campaign look like? How many people do you have on your email list, how often are you speaking to them? Are you running ads, what is their ROI and how is that contributing to your monthly income?

Is your head spinning yet?

If so, it doesn’t need to, you just need the right STRUCTURES in place to enable you to map out your goal. You need to break down your overall goal into smaller ones and reverse engineer them to give yourself the structure you need to ensure its success.

SMART Goals

One way you could do this is by implementing SMART goals. They are a powerful tool for setting and achieving both personal and business goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Here’s how each of them work:

1. Specific: A specific goal is one that is clear and well-defined, so that it’s easy to know what you’re working towards.
2. Measurable: A goal is considered measurable when it’s possible to track progress and see how close you are to reaching it.
3. Attainable: An attainable goal is one that is realistic and within reach, given your current resources and limitations.
4. Relevant: A relevant goal is one that is aligned with your overall goals and priorities, and that will have a meaningful impact on your life.
5. Time-Bound: A time-bound goal is one that has a specific deadline, so that you can stay focused and motivated to reach it.

By setting SMART goals, you’ll be able to focus your efforts, track your progress, and make sure that you’re always moving in the right direction. Whether you’re setting goals for your personal life or for your business, SMART goals are a powerful tool that can help you achieve your resolutions.

Intention Setting

Another alternative to setting potentially unrealistic resolutions is to set intentions. Intentions are similar to resolutions, but with a more positive and specific focus. 

Intention setting is the process of consciously deciding what you want to achieve and aligning your thoughts, actions, and behaviors towards that desired outcome. 

Setting an intention can help you stay focused, increase your motivation and reduce stress by giving you a sense of purpose and direction. Also, regularly reviewing and refining your intentions can help you stay on track and make changes as needed.

We all know that over time, goals change and so can business; so by setting intentions and constantly reviewing them and making sure they are still in alignment with your goals, you can ensure you stay on track, evolve as needed and keep those stress levels down!

Word of the Year

Another option is to choose a “word of the year.” I’m sure you saw multiple Reels floating around Instagram throughout January including mine. WOTY is essentially a single word that represents your aspirations and goals for the coming year. It can be anything from “peace,” “gratitude,” or “growth”. Mine was ‘RESET’ if you’re wondering, you can see more about it here. Choose a word that resonates with you and focus on incorporating it into your daily life.

Self Growth

Finally, you could choose one self-growth idea to stick to for the year. This could be something as simple as reading a book every month, taking a weekly yoga class, or learning a new skill. The key is to make it manageable and achievable, rather than overwhelming.

And make it fun! This one doesn’t need to specifically be about your business; instead, make this one about you on a personal level.

Make your health a priority, endeavor to listen to more meditations, book yourself in for monthly massages. Heck, make it a priority to finally go to that health retreat you’ve been dreaming about.

I can guarantee that once you make YOU a priority, it was impact your business in ways you can’t even imagine.

Remember, New Year’s resolutions can be a helpful way to reflect on the past year and set goals for the future, but they often fall short. Instead, set yourself SMART goals, get into setting intentions, choose a word of the year, or selecting one self-growth idea to focus on. These alternatives can provide a more positive and achievable approach to your personal and business growth and development in 2023.