No Year's Resolution

...see what I did with that title?

I don't make New Year's Resolutions.  

I see the value in them. I'm not against them. But I don't do them. 

It wasn't always this way. 

I made this decision several years ago after going through the motions just like I was supposed to. I made the list. I picked vices to dump, new rhythms to start, and goals to achieve. I psyched myself up. I knuckled down. And more often than not, I couldn't even remember my list by April. 

The focus blurred. The passion fizzled out. 

It was then that I waited to start something new for my good and the benefit of the world around me until New Year's. Then it hit me... why wait? Why not make resolutions one at a time throughout the year? Maybe it's just me but I was conditioned into believing that I could really only make effective resolutions once a year when I was "motivated" to do it. 

Here's the clincher: I was externally motivated around New Year's but internally motivated throughout the year. So, why wait? Do it now. If I failed, I would just restart then and there.

I began to see my failures as essential to my success instead of a checklist that never got completed. I kept restarting. I kept pressing on. I kept going. It's as if by failing over and over again I was actually learning how to succeed. 

Resistance wants us to fail and stay there, which is why so many resolutions never resolve. Resistance hates it when you get back up. When you choose to start over. When you fail but don't quit. 

What I learned is that resolutions are not a one time decision. They're a series of decisions made one day at a time over several weeks and months which yield the results that we desire.  Everyday is a new beginning to finish what we've started. So many times have I started but I'll be remembered more for what I finish... And so will you. 

If you get stuck, use a life coach. They specialize in unresolved change and navigating hurdles both seen and unseen. My friends Justin (@thewildriverdog) and Mike (@MichaelDWarden) are trusted allies that help me see past the smokescreen of defeat and confusion and spur me on toward my heroic calling. I recommend them for you as well. 

Want to resolve to change? Press against the invisible Resistance that is determined to see you fail. And while you're at it, fail. Fail brilliantly. Because failing means you're doing something. But don't stop. Keep pushing through. Keep going.