4 Questions to Create Resolutions That Stick
The Only 4 Questions You Need to Ask to Create Resolutions That Stick.
Twenty years ago I asked myself these four questions. Now, its my framework for success for the year ahead.
As we are entering a new decade, there can be even more pressure to stick with our New Year’s resolutions. We tend to look back at the past ten years as a whole and can stress over what changes we’ve made — or haven’t — and focus more on our failures than celebrate our successes.
Similarly, at the end of 1999, I felt a ton of pressure since it was the end of a whole millennium. I spent tons of time looking back on my life and began to evaluate what I liked and didn’t like and asked myself four questions. The resolutions I made as a result of those questions changed the course of my career.
Twenty years on, I have followed the same framework for defining my resolutions every year. They’ve been an essential part of setting me up for success in each new year– and beyond.
Here are the questions that I ask:
1. What outcome do I want to achieve?
Most people don’t really stop and think about this thoroughly. If you don’t have a specific definition of what success means in each thing you are doing — such as to find five new clients, or open a new business location, or increase your savings by 10 percent each month for your retirement account — you’ll never know that you’ve achieved it. Being specific is much more helpful than making a vague goal to “succeed in your career” or “learn something new.”
2. What is holding me back?
Sometimes we truly aren’t aware of what blocks us from achieving what we want, but most of the time we just don’t want to admit what’s stopping us. Once you name the thing that is stopping you from moving forward, you can brainstorm ways to get past it. Anticipating what can be in your way helps you be prepared and come up with a plan for when you’re actually faced with it.
