We are almost at the end of the year and once again it is that time to look ahead to an exciting year and a fresh start. Last year my colleague James P DeVellis and I decided to try something different for our new year’s resolutions and decided to just pick one each, instead of the list of changes we wished to make that we had done in the past. Mine was to exercise for at least 3 hours per week, and James’s was to spend at least one night per week with his wife, on a date. I can happily say that up until the time of writing both James and I have achieved what we never thought possible, sticking to the resolutions which we made last year, and here is why I would recommend that you give it a try this year. 

Sticking To It

The key to feeling great about the changes that you want to make in your life and the resolutions which you make to do so, is actually sticking to what you have promised yourself. In fact a failure to complete your new year’s resolution can actually make your feel worse than before, and give you that awful sense of failure. When you pick one resolution however, I have found that it is much easier to stick to as you only have one place to focus all of that energy. It can be tempting to make a list of all the things you wish to change, but starting with one is the best way to go about making change at all. 

Consequences

If you’d asked me last year what my resolutions would be on top of going to the gym, I’d have told you that I wanted to be better organized and get a handle on my finances, but I decided to just pick the gym. What I have found this year however is that as a direct result of my living up to the resolution and actually going to the gym, that I have been inspired to change other things anyway. Without really knowing it or focusing on it I have massively improved my organizational skills and my finances and I am in no doubt  that this is a byproduct of my discipline in getting to the gym. Completing a resolution is about proving to yourself that you can make a change, do it once and you’ll want to do it more. 

Full Energy 

When you select a single resolution you are going to be able to give it everything that you have, and invest all of your energy in achieving it. If however you pick 3 or 4 resolutions to focus on then you are not going to be able to do this, as you will have to spread out your thoughts an energy amongst various changes. Pick one and give it all you have, once you’ve done it, move on to the next thing.