I’m sure I’m not the first one to tell you that most new year’s resolutions are abandoned well within the first quarter of the new year.
Actually, I was being nice . . . its more like 30 days or less!
Some say its because we’re doing it in a moment of “this is what I’m supposed to do this time of year” and we lack the seriousness.
Others feel its because we lack the plan to bring the goal to fruition.
Gold star to both schools of thought but I think it runs deeper than that!
Fear!
We rarely take the time to identify and articulate our fears as in . . .
What scares me?
What am I afraid of?
What is it about this goal that deep down concerns me?
I could go on and on but that’s just the identification part.
You need to articulate the fear by asking . . .
Why does this scare me, frighten me, concern me?
I need to tell you that I’m not a big fan of the “Just Do It” mentality.
Yes, I believe we can over think things and get caught up in a “Paralysis by analysis” funk but . . .
Fear unconsciously becomes our GPS slowing down the car, taking the scenic routes and doing a wonderful job of keeping us from our destination.
I believe that’s a concept worth pondering and maybe that’s why we can never seem to conquer that big goal or even that little one!
Screwed up thought coming at cha in 3,2,1 . . .
Perhaps it’s fear that keeps us from taking the time to think about the things that truly scare us!
For those of you who would like to attack the new year differently, I would highly recommend my Playbook For A Successful Year webinar on January 10th at 1:30 Eastern. Here’s the link with all the details http://www.instantpresenter.com/PIID=EA52DD82834F Oh and I intentionally set the date for this for that magical moment when our New Year’s resolutions are starting to lose some of the initial momentum!
For the vast majority of people, step 1 of their resolution is to procrastinate. They knew the pipeline looked bad in Nov, they’ve been 20 pounds too heavy for years, they should have quit smoking 15 years ago. Yet step 1 for them is to wait for Jan 1 to do anything. If you aren’t willing to start today, you are setting yourself up to fail. You may indeed need a coherent, well thought out and documented plan to rebuild your sales territory. And that does take time. But you can also make 10 extra calls today. If you aren’t willing to do that, you are probably wasting your time.
Yes and no Chris.
I agree that we have to be willing to get going today, but too many times we just jump in without thinking about what it is about the activity that scares us.
I think it would be far more productive to take some time to reflect on why we aren’t making the calls than forcing ourselves to do something that we keep avoiding.
We obviously can’t over think this stuff and need to back it up with action but if I know that picking up that phone for example is scaring the hell out of me, I can . . .
See the signs of that coming and interrupt the pattern
I might even say “the heck with the phone” and do more networking, emailing, creative approaches etc
So I don’t disagree with you, I just think there’s a step before the “just do it today” step.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Chris!
lol….. I always did my NYR in June when the Gyms are not so full as the planet earth shows up there in Jan…..
Good idea . . . Thanks Dan!
I feel that in sales there must be a strategy, much like a business plan. Without a plan there is no strategy. I agree with you Jedi, that understanding our fears will help us to attain success with resolutions, sales, and our personal lives. I keep the New Year Resolution simple; never eat yellow snow. Hahah Happy New Year!
I’m going to frame your thoughts about yellow snow and hang it up in my office for motivation Jenna 🙂
Rock on and have a happy and healthy new year!
I was once told that ‘fear could be a motivator to take action’. I am still trying to figure that one out. If you don’t know what is stopping you from taking action, how then can you ‘see’ it coming and avoid ‘it’. We fail not knowing why we fail and therefore have no idea what to do differently to succeed. Good post.
Oh, how can a small 4-letter word hold so much meaning. Paul thanks for the fabulous post and reminder of what drives ourselves down a particular road. I am excited to move on with the new year and connect with this great group.
Cheers to all and a very prosperous new year
I think Fear might just be the most dangerous 4 letter word at our disposal Kathryn.
Thank you for your kind words and have a wonderful, happy and healthy new year!
Hey Uncle Paul,
Thanks for the great post!
The big F word…I have been reflecting since last week working on my goals for 2012 and I am looking back at 2011 and pinpointing what I need to focus to do better that I did.
For me, It’s hard to identify what is driven by fear and what is simply behavior…
At one point it was the same for me too Peter. It wasn’t until I made it a practice to reflect, ponder and question my various behaviors.
Happy New Year to you my friend!
Very true, so many NY resolutions go out the window in a month. Sometimes we don’t set any more resolutions of the fear that the same thing might happen again. So in this case, it’s better just to look forward, set goals and work a little harder to achieve them in the new year. Happy Holidays!
Thanks John!
Happy New Year!
I agree Anthony. We need to identify and understand the root of our fear.
Thanks and have an awesome new year!