Kick Your Ass Idea #150 – Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions

If you resolve to do just one thing this New Year, I hope it is to buy a copy of our book. Why? Well, for one thing, we always like selling books. But you also only have until mid-January to take advantage of our discounted prices of 25-40% off! But more to the point, I think New Year’s resolutions are a horrible idea. I’ve written about this at length elsewhere, but the reasons to NOT make resolutions for the first of the year are simple. First of all, they allow you to procrastinate. If there’s something you REALLY NEED TO DO, why don’t you start doing it RIGHT NOW? The lists people make for New Year’s also tend to be too airy-fairy, with no strategies or goals attached. They tend to be things like “eat better”, and “get out of debt” and any of a number of things that are probably addiction-related, like smoking, drinking, or losing weight. If you’ve had these undesirable behaviors for a long time, what makes you think you can magically fix them on January 1st? And it doesn’t help at all that many of us are coming off the holiday whirlwind, getting focused on getting kids back to school, and getting to work. Not to mention waiting for the credit card debt to start showing up in the mailbox.

Look. I’m not saying don’t make ANY changes on the first of the year, but if you have a list already, consider reviewing it with a new approach. Are there any things on that list you could start today? THEN WHY NOT DO THEM? Are some of the things intimidating, like starting a workout program, paying down debt, or losing weight? Don’t put all the pressure on the first of the year, set a longer-term goal for the end of the year, and chunk it out into achievable steps, perhaps with weekly, monthly, or even quarterly reviews. Get help with the things you want to change. Find an “accountability partner” if you think it will help. With debt, that’s the cornerstone of Dave Ramsey’s approach. Likewise with addictive behaviors like smoking, drinking, or over-eating. You name an addictive behavior, and there’s probably a free and wonderfully supportive group for it in your area.

And if the only reason you haven’t thought about making changes in the new year is because you’re stuck and need ideas, we’re here to help. We have 101 of them! HAPPY NEW YEAR!