As I gleaned my Google Reader for interesting things to report to the Workplace Learning Today readers, I noticed a few predictable patterns in early January posts. I found could classify about 50% of the blog posts I surveyed into 3 categories: the past year in review, predictions for the new year and of course, new year resolutions. The latter category was the one that really caught my attention, as it seems to be the one area where I see many people, myself included, shooting themselves in the foot.
The following are a sampling of the well intentioned personal and professional improvement 2011 resolutions posts that I found:
- Enhancing your professional portfolio (which I should add, is not only for when you are seeking a new position)
- Improving your current learning content development skills
- Learning a new piece of software or technology
- Or even Team Based resolutions aimed at fostering innovation
There are even smart phone apps that claim to help reinforce new year resolutions. But I couldn’t help wonder if making resolutions is such a wise thing to do. So I kept searching.
I came across a post by corporate consultant Stephen Shapiro who discovered in his research that New Year’s Resolutions just don’t work.
According to our study, only 8% of Americans say they always achieve their New Year’s resolutions. The way it seems to work now, setting a New Year’s Resolution is a recipe for defeat.
He goes on to write that people eventually put an end to the misery of trying to keep up the resolution and call the whole thing off. One of the core issues, according to Shapiro’s research, is that when making a resolution, people focus on where they want to be rather than enjoying where they are right now.
We sacrifice today in the hope that a better future will emerge — only to discover that achievement rarely leads to true joy.
Now Shapiro isn’t against self-improvement, but rather provides detailed guidelines for making more sustainable resolutions. The headlines are:
- Choose a broad theme rather than specific measurable goal.
- Choose an expansive and empowering theme.
- Reflect on the previous year.
- Develop your theme jointly.
- Remind yourself of your theme.
- Remain open to new possibilities and to changes in direction at any point in the future.
Personal growth blogger Tina Su echoes this type of resolution in posting how she will approach and envision her 2011 year:
The commitment I will make today is to relinquish an idealistic definition of perfection that has bubbled up empty goals, with only a façade of meaning. I can, then, wholeheartedly make room to embrace true commitments that honestly serve who I am; even in all of its imperfection.
These are truly phenomenal tips for steering resolutions down a more successful path. In addition, I’d add the following bit of advice from Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself.
I guess that I already broke that rule once, stating that one of my resolutions was to blog more.
References:
- Keep Your Goals to Yourself | Ted Talks | Derek Sivers | September 2010
- Making Resolutions that Work | 24/7 Innovation | Stephen Shapiro | 3 January 2011
- The Perfect New Years Resolution | Think Simple Now | Tina Su | 30 December 2010