The Trouble with New Year's Resolutions
Monday, January 3, 2011 at 4:31PM | by Katy By show of hands, how many of you “resolve” to do something positive in 2011?
Maybe you want to learn how to pass up those free Krispy Kreme donuts your colleagues always bring to the office. (Lousy saboteurs!) Maybe you want to get that nasty debt monkey off your back. Or maybe you’d like to spend even more time with the people you spent most of 2010 trying to ignore. Whatever you “resolve” to do, it doesn’t mean a hill of beans if you fail to act on it.
I’d like to give you some practical steps to re-vamp your resolutions so you can end 2011 as motivated as you began it! Unless, of course, you were that crazy, drunk guy we saw in Central London at 3 a.m. on January 1st who peed all over his fancy suit. Not a great way to start the year, buddy. Let’s hope he made it home safely, sent his suit to the dry cleaners and resolved to stay sober enough to pee upright in 2011.
According to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the probability of completing a goal if you have an idea is 10%. Sadly, most people stop here. If you decide a TIME to complete that goal, it jumps to 40%. If you create a PLAN to do it: 50%. You COMMIT to someone else you’ll do it, and you’re looking at 65%. But, if you are one of the few who actually sets an ACCOUNTABILITY APPOINTMENT with someone else, it jumps to a whopping 95%!
A 95% chance you’ll pass up free Krispy Kreme? That’s nonsense, right?
Not really.
But you can’t ask someone to hold you accountable if you’re not specific about your goals. Accountability appointments are futile if you bring nothing to it. You might as well sew your mouth shut and make a dentist appointment. It just doesn’t make sense.
Consider the Harvard MBA graduates of 1979. In his book What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack refers to a study conducted on these students. They were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” A mere 3% had written goals and plans. 13% had goals (although they were not in writing). And a whopping 84% had absolutely no goals.
The most incredible part of the story occurred ten years later when the same members of that class were interviewed again. That 13% who had goals were earning twice as much as the 84% with no goals at all. And that 3% with written goals and plans? They were earning TEN TIMES AS MUCH as the other 97% combined.
So, the trouble with New Year’s resolutions is that most people fall into the trap of stopping at the “idea” phase and fail to persevere to the “accountability” phase. Consider how different your year will be if you take those great ideas, clearly write them out using any number of proven goal-setting methods (I like this one), and then find a friend or family member who will hold you accountable.
Don’t underestimate the power of accountability to motivate yourself. I am much more likely to pass up a muffin if I have to explain to my accountability partner why my midsection is starting to look like the top of one.
So, what do you resolve to do in 2011?*
*Note: The first 5 people to respond to this post AND repost a link via Facebook or Twitter will receive a FREE one-hour telecoaching session! We will discuss your 2011 resolutions and create a tangible plan to achieve them!
Coaching, Motivation
Reader Comments (5)
Hey Katy! Can you coach Rocky to graduate this semester? ;) Ok, ok - I know I should set my own goals and let him set his. Have you ever talked to anyone who made a New Year resolution and kept it the entire year?
I have, in fact, met someone who kept a resolution for an entire year. My dad went an entire year without French fries...but I'm pretty sure it's because Drew bet him $100 he wouldn't keep it. Dad is far more motivated by losing money than losing weight. :-)
I can't wait to hear your resolutions. Let's set up a time to chat!
Thanks for the pep talk Tonya!
Loved this post. Love your blog. And I'm sure that I like you as adult as much as I did when we were kids. ;)
Err....as an adult....forgive typos....