Unpopular Opinion- New Year's Resolutions Are Sabotaging Your Long Term Success

You run the same cycle year after year... "Alright, day 1 of the year is a fresh start... new year = new me! I'm going to (insert list of 5+ habits you want to start up)." I'm writing this to convince you that it's time to rethink how you go about your New Years' resolutions as you are only setting yourself up for long-term failure when you take the "typical approach".

What happens year after year? You might get a hot start on day one (depending on how hungover you are from the NYE celebrations), but typically by the end of 1-2 weeks time you've fallen off the wagon of the majority of the habits you chose to begin. Overwhelm has gotten the best of you and so begins the backslide... before too long you're just about right back to where you were; looking for another "fresh start".

Well, instead of this how about you try something else out as we approach the New Year? I want you to think of the acronym "KISS", which stands for: keep it simple, stupid. _{(Side bar, I really wanted to find a clever way to insert a New Year's Kiss pun but couldn't make it happen)}. Start with the basics and build from there. Let's run through my personal process step by step:

1. Evaluate your previous year. Find at least 3 things you did really well and the 2-3 main things you want to improve upon. Write these down.
2. With this information in mind lay out your Outcome Goals for the year. These are the end results you are looking to get. These outcome goals should encompass all aspects you want to improve upon in your life. Examples below:
   • I will lose 15lbs by 2023.
   • I will read one book/mo.
   • I will be debt free by the end of 2023.
3. Reverse engineer these Outcome Goals into the processes you will need to stick to in order to achieve your desired result... example below (I'll pick the simplest one to draw the clearest picture as to how to break your goals down):
   • I will read one book a month. To do this I need to know that the average book is (let's say...) 300 pages. This means to stay on base I will roughly need to read 10 pages/day. This is one of the bite-sized habits for us to commit to!
4. Continue breaking down each goal with the process above, but keep in mind we only want to start with 1-2 habits to focus on developing tops if you have struggled with overwhelm in the past... absolutely NO MORE than 5 at once.
5. Utilize the tool that Andy Frisella coined "the power list" to track your daily habits. Simply hand write the 1-5 critical tasks you have chosen to develop as new habits... If you manage to do to each of the daily habits you committed to then you have "won the day"... check each task off your list and put a big W at the top of the page to symbolize this win. Rinse and repeat DAILY.
   • This tool is meant to take full advantage of "the compound effect". The power of tiny incremental gains EVERY SINGLE DAY for a long period of time will far outweigh any level of consistent effort due to how your results will compound over time.
   • Your goal should be to win each day, win each week, win each mo, and ultimately win your year.
   • Once you feel an object on your list is truly a HABIT (automatic part of your day) then and only then can you add another item to the list in place of your habit that you will continue to execute on daily.

In short, I want this to be the year you genuinely make a meaningful change in your life. Don't fall victim to the same mentality and same tactics of every year that has passed so far. Break the cycle... get structured and take actions towards your goals every damn day.

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