How are your New Year’s resolutions going so far?

Here we are at the end of the first full week of 2017. If prior years are any sign, gyms and fitness centers around the U.S. have been full of new members looking to put into motion those New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and to get into better shape. The local Barnes & Noble (or other bookstores) have been filled with customers looking for the next best self-help book. And I’m sure Amazon has seen an uptick in sales of resources and books on self-discipline, commitment, goal-setting, and the like. Such is the beginning of the New Year.

But, if the habits and trends of the past continue to hold true, a significant number of our fellow citizens by mid-February will have sworn off their new diets, allowed their gym memberships to go unused, and moved on to other selections from their Kindle reading lists. But why does this seem to happen every year? Why is it that we start a new year with the best of intentions, with big goals and public pronouncements about successes right around the corner – and fall back into the same habits as the year we just left?

In other words, why do our New Year’s resolutions so often become “better luck next year” refrains?

Better luck next year…

Many have considered this question from all different angles and perspectives. There is even a favorite online course to address the issue. (I’m taking it myself this week.) Without taking away from the solutions others have proposed, I suggest that there are two reasons why this keeps happening: First, we often miss the little necessary things when we put too much emphasis on the “big ideas/goals.” Second, we try to do or change too many things at once, and end up not focusing enough on accomplishing one thing at a time. (We’ll cover this in tomorrow’s post.)

When we look at setting big, life-changing goals for our lives, this isn’t a bad thing. (Quite the opposite, in fact.) We can’t expect to see and to make a substantial positive change in our lives unless we “think big.” We may miss the proverbial forest for the trees if we don’t take the time to explore the details of how those big goals can be accomplished in a steady, progress-building manner.

For example, I have seen and read of folks who, in previous years, set personal goals to run a marathon. Some were dedicated runners. Others just wanted to set a challenging goal and strive to achieve it. In some cases, they set out on a structured, pre-planned schedule of preparation for the race, including increasing distance runs, dietary changes, even modified sleep schedules. A few others opted to “just run more” and ramp up their distances as they got closer to the big day.

As you can imagine, the ones who completed the race were, without exception, the people who focused on the “little things” that led to a successful marathon completion. To them, each part of the regimen was necessary, and each one contributed significantly to their eventual success. They focused much less on their half-year or even quarterly goals, and more on building daily habits they knew would give them the strongest foundation.

It is the same for us, whether we’re trying to lose twenty pounds or change careers or just spend more time with our families. The easiest – and most efficient – way to lose twenty pounds is to lose one pound twenty times in a row. The easiest way to spend lots more time with our families… is to find ways to (consistently) spend an extra ten minutes with them, here and there.

Little choices lead to regular habits, then to significant accomplishments. In other words, not a New Year’s resolution, but a new life.

Tomorrow, we’ll discuss how the habit of singular focus can make all the difference.

Thoughts? Comments? Share your ideas below, or join the conversation on Facebook.