We have dreams. We make ourselves promises. We make resolutions.
And…all too often, absolutely nothing happens or changes.
When nothing changes, we are quick to find excuses. We find a way to make other people or circumstances the cause of our failure to take action and move forward. If all else fails, we can simply say something wooly like, “The time wasn’t right. Maybe next year.”
It’s easy to get away with this kind of non-action, because we keep our plans and promises to ourselves. In fact, if we hard work on it, we can even persuade ourselves that we didn’t really promise ourselves to do anything at all. (As humans we’ll go to almost any lengths to protect our self-esteem.)
One step forward is to make yourself accountable by letting other people know what you plan to change or achieve. In fact, there are whole websites devoted to sharing your goals with other people. At this time of year, people also share their resolutions on social media sites like Facebook.
I guess that is one step forward. At least you are committing to your plan publicly. But the thing is, do you really care that much if you disappoint a bunch of strangers? Besides, a few months after you have made your commitment public, all those strangers will likely have forgotten about you anyway.
If you really want to get serious about making some changes for the better this year, you should share your resolution with someone you deeply respect or love. Someone you would truly hate to disappoint. Someone who won’t forget the promise you made to yourself.
A parent. A mentor. One of your children.
In other words, put some skin in the game. Make it so there is a price to pay for not fulfilling your promise. Make the prospect of giving up on your goal painful.
If that sounds a little scary, well, that’s the whole point.
If there is no price to pay for not making positive change in your life, your chances of success are low. The higher the price, the more likely it is you’ll succeed.
Think of someone you would hate to disappoint, and go tell them about your plans for this year.
When? Now would be good. By tomorrow you will have forgotten you even read this post.
Related Resources:
My coaching service for freelancers…
My ebook – Affirmations for Freelancers
About the author: Nick Usborne is an online writer, copywriter, author and coach. Read more…