A fresh new year always seems like an opportunity for a fresh new start. I love adding up the numbers at the end of the year to reconcile the accounts, celebrate the victories, and see the goals that were set that never actually happened.
I’m not one for excuses – when goals are set (or resolutions are made) they must be created within the framework of a plan to execute, or they will rarely happen. But even with a plan, I often find that goals get hollow – and resolution slip into obligations… and they fade in the summer sun.
So what does it really take to have a goal or resolution succeed? One word: Conviction.
In 2010 I set a goal to not drink a soda in the month of January 2011. As of January 2014, I’ve yet to suck on a Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, or even a Sierra Mist! Why was this goal so successful, when the very same month I set a goal to put 10 new loan applications into my team pipeline and only contributed 4. Am I more disciplined with my liquids than my income? Do I care more about my body than my team? What is the gap…?
In this example, I was convicted to make the change to my intake of soda because I was convicted that at 42 men no better or worse than me developed mid-sections that contributed to fatigue. Even worse – some suffered a life-threatening event, simply because they made poor choices about the fuel they consume. Bottom line – I did not want to be a fat, heart-attack victim! Call me shallow, but that is the truth… I was convicted, and I’ve never looked back.
So before you sit down this week to roll out your new year’s plan, your goals, or even a new year’s resolution or two… pause. Ask yourself – what convictions about my life do I really have? What am I willing to die for – or in my example, what am I not willing to die for? I know that sounds cold, harsh… oh, well. It is truth, and truth comes out black & white.
You need to know your convictions before you make a new plan for the new year. I promise – when you realize the few things in life that really matter, and write them down, you will have a foundation for a new year’s plan that will not fail.
Keep me posted on your progress!
Coach Michael Regan 