Resolve

New Year’s Eve does not magically manufacture resolve.

The resolve required to achieve something significant, whether that be to persistently engage in a new habit, or a one-time action such as ‘set things right with this person’, is built up from inside of you.

Usually that process involves two things: first, pain; second, a vision.

If you experience enough pain or discomfort, from that, you can draw the initial motivation to make a change.

Pain could be standing on a nail, looking at your belly fat in the mirror every day, or feeling crappy about a decision that you made.

A vision of something better, a new state of existence in which you look or feel differently than you do now, gives you something to move forward to. That’s why before & after pictures are so compelling.

The clearer the vision, the better. If you write it down on paper and be specific, it becomes that much more powerful. If you and your close loved ones are on board with exactly what it will take, and what must be given up, in order to get there, then you are set up for success.

It is possible this process manifested inside of you at 11:59 on December 31st, but, not likely. It’s more likely that if you’ve broken New Year’s resolutions in the past, you weren’t resolved to follow through on them.

And that’s perfectly OK. It has nothing to do with a calendar. It has to do with being ready, willing, and able. It has to do with being motivated and clear about what you want, and why.

The best day to get clear about your resolutions, if you didn’t before the ball dropped, is today.