It’s the end of the year and a good time for self-reflection.
So, how about asking yourself how you’ve done at following through in 2024? And more importantly, how can you do better in 2025?
And while you’re at it, could you please give me some feedback?
The last thing I want to do is write blog posts that miss the mark. So, if there are topics you’d like me to cover in the future, please let me know.
And speaking of feedback, I’ve been asked to repeat the advice I offered last year about the tricky business of New Year’s resolutions. So, here it is:
Hold your horses
If you’re considering making a New Year’s resolution, hold your horses.
Remember that a New Year’s resolution is really nothing more than the special holiday edition of the promises you make to yourself every day. Yes, a New Year’s resolution is a good intention with a bow on it.
It’s a bold promise that’s prone to failure
Like all other good intentions, a New Year’s resolution is a promise to do something you’ve decided will make you a better person or improve your life in some way. But New Year’s resolutions often involve especially ambitious promises that are especially challenging to keep. As such, they are particularly prone to failure.
Comedian Joey Adams captured the sad truth about New Year’s resolutions when he offered this toast: “May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions!”
How to tip the odds in your favor
So, what can you do to increase the chances that your New Year’s resolution will succeed?
The answer is simple: Treat your New Year’s resolutions like you really should treat any other good intention.
- Don’t make a promise without first doing due diligence and concluding that what you’re about to promise to do is not only worthwhile but realistically doable.
- Never make a New Year’s resolution without creating a proper plan for following through on it. A proper follow through plan (1) acknowledges the obstacles and the challenges that you’re bound to face in keeping your promise, and (2) identifies the particular follow through strategies you’ll employ to make it to the finish line.
For help in positioning your next New Years resolution for success, please check out our Guides at https://followingthrough.org/tools/. (Note that some Guides are available only to users who are enrolled in the Follow Through Master Program.)
Wishing you a very happy New Year filled with follow through successes!