Don’t You Dare Set a New Year’s Resolution
If you don’t have a sense of purpose. Or, as Robert Greene calls it, your Life’s Task.
If you’re a Simon Sinek kind of person, your Just Cause and your Why.
Because if you don’t have a sense of purpose when chasing after your goals—this year’s New Year’s Resolution—you’re setting yourself up for failure.
In 2022, approach the New Year differently: finally tell the story you’ve always wanted to tell and start by defining your sense of purpose.
A New Year—A New Mindset
New Year’s Resolutions can be great: a new direction for your life as you hang up a new calendar on the wall. What a perfect time to hit the reset button and finally go after something deep inside of you screaming, “you, too, can do that this year.”
At the start, that screaming is exciting.
At the start, that screaming is motivating.
Too often, though, a few weeks into the New Year, that sense of excitement and motivation for a reset wears off, and the reality of the task at-hand hits hard.
Excitement and motivation can only get you so far.
Changing your life is hard and it takes a long damn time to start noticing the changes. But, we’ve been conditioned to a quick-fix society:
There is a pill to fix anything that ails us.
There is a diet that will lead to a perfect body.
There is a 7-minute workout that will ensure fitness.
And there are apps that will instantly organize our lives.
And, because of this conditioning, we go into New Year’s Resolutions believing that the same principles will apply.
They don’t.
Have a Sense of Purpose
And, that’s where having a sense of purpose—an understanding of your Life’s Task or a grasp of your Just Cause and your Why—comes in.
A sense of purpose will be there when the excitement and motivation wears off.
A sense of purpose will give you conviction when the going gets tough.
A sense of purpose will help you overcome the mundane and boring aspects of making change.
A sense of purpose will get you out of bed in the morning.
A sense of purpose will smack you in the face and get you to put in the work when all of life’s distractions—the noise—are tempting you from every direction.
A sense of purpose will keep you pushing toward your New Year’s Resolution as the calendar pages turn to February, March, April, May, and beyond.
“And this sense of purpose I’ve had for my whole life that became so much clearer twenty-five years ago is what I believe has guided me through all the hard moments in my life. And I think it could do that for anybody, once you sense it within you, once you search for it.” — Robert Greene, The Daily Laws
Motivation and excitement are emotions and, like it or not, they are going to act just like all your other emotions: be fleeting.
A sense of purpose is a mindset and mindsets are lasting.
Action Step: How Do I Find My Sense of Purpose?
It’s a process. But, here’s a good starting point:
Set a New Year’s Resolution.
Then, ask yourself WHY? (Note: losing weight is not a WHY.) Reflect long and hard on this question. Pull out a journal and get your thoughts on paper. Don’t stop until you’ve fully explored the WHY behind your New Year’s Resolution.
Based on what you discover, revise your New Year’s Resolution.
Repeat Step 2 and Step 3 as many times as needed until you have a deep conviction—a mindset—that will guide you throughout the year as you pursue that goal.
There’s more to it than these four steps; however, this is a great place to start to help make your New Year’s Resolution stick this year and finally tell the story you’ve always wanted to tell.
If you’re interested in learning more, we’re excited to announce the release of our self-directed workbook to help you identify your BIG, SCARY, HAIRY GOAL and transform it into a BIG, SCARY GOAL by focusing on the little things that will lead you to finally achieve your BIG GOAL and tell the story you’ve always wanted to tell.