A Better Resolution

8% isn't that much.

If I only kept 8% of the promises I made to my wife, I'd be rocking a bachelor pad faster than you could spell d-e-a-d-b-e-a-t. If I only kept 8% of the commitments I made at work, needless to say, I'd be dusting off my resume. A success rate of 8% really isn't great.

But that's how successful we are with new year's resolutions. Research suggests that of the 41% of Americans that regularly make new year's resolutions, only 8% are able to keep them. This means that in everything from improving our health to getting better at our personal finances, we aren't getting where we want to be and becoming what we want to become.

To paraphrase the late Dr. Stephen Covey, if we want to get results we've never had before, we have to start doing things we've never done before: taking on different challenges, building different habits, and trying on new paradigms.

Dr Covey also challenged that "if we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviors. But if we want to make significant, quantum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms." It might be safe to say that at an 8% success rate, maybe we have to change the way we're seeing our resolutions. Perhaps it's time to challenge our resolution paradigms to focus more on being than on doing. Here are three quick ideas on a new take for resolutions:

1. Pick a focus

The first idea is to scrap the resolution itself in lieu of a focus. A big reason we fail at resolutions is that we overextend ourselves, trying to knock off huge bucket list items. Aiming only for our biggest goals often sets us up for failure because we give up early, figuring we probably won't achieve them in the long run.

Similarly, we get over ambitious and not only set goals that are far too large, but we make entire lists of big goals: I'm going to lose weight, and double my savings, and travel more, and, and, and... The law of diminishing returns weighs in against our ambitions, and the more we say we'll do, the less energy we have to do it.

So, keep it simple. Keep it so simple that there's no excuse not to do it, and there aren't too many distractions along the way. An easy way to simplify your goals is to choose a focus instead of a resolution.

A New Year's focus is simply identifying who you want to be in the coming year. This is your vision you set for the year, your mission. It could be a sentence like "This year I'll get good at my finances." If you have a tendency to complicate things, you might even simplify it down to one word: Thrive. Prepare. Focus. Who are you going to be? Keep it simple.

2. Win the long game in short sprints

This is where it gets fun. Once you have your focus, try making short habit-based goals that get you where you want to be. Losing weight is probably the most common resolution, so let's start there.

If my resolution would have been to lose 10 pounds, I might pick a focus of good health. Of course I know that it includes eating right and running and lifting weights, but for this we're going to just say good health. I might look at myself honestly and ask myself the following: "If I could add one habit to my daily routine and perform it consistently and flawlessly, what habit would make the biggest difference in getting good health?"

Pick a tangible habit that you can do every day that would have the greatest leverage on where you want to go. Is there a habit that is foundational to where you want to be? It doesn't have to be anything Herculean; a mountain is moved one shovelful at a time if you can build a habit of daily digging.

Focusing on habits allows you to focus on the future. It isn't a matter of running a marathon, it's becoming a runner. It isn't making a healthy dinner, it's creating a healthy lifestyle. Because the focus is on habits, it's the gift that keeps on giving.

Let's say I have chosen the habit of running, and specifically, that I'll run a mile every day. Once I've become a runner, then I can add to that the power of a healthy diet or vice versa. I can be specific about exactly what a healthy diet means for me, and stick to it every day as I continue running. In this way, I harness the power of compounding habits.

There's a lot of anecdotal science around how long it takes to build a habit. A recent study from Phillappa Lally at the University College London found that it takes about 66 days of consistent (not perfect) behavior to build one. So, instead of a yearlong resolution, set a time frame for a couple of months to turn your actions into habits.

For example, I'm going to run a mile every day for two months. At the end of two months, I'm going to decide if I've built a good habit. If so, I'll build on running with another habit (diet or cutting sweets or another type of exercise, etc.). I could easily build four or five good high-leverage habits through the year by following this pattern. These habits, deliberately chosen, will propel me toward a fulfillment of my focus.

3. Choose an accountability partner

Research shows that coaching, when integrated with learning, can improve learning retention by 400%. So if I'm learning a new habit, the same principle applies. I have found in my professional work that one of the greatest indicators of a team's success is their ability to hold each other accountable, coupled with each individual's desire to be held accountable. I'd recommend finding someone that you trust that is willing to hold you accountable. I've also found that it helps if it's a two way relationship. It will be easier for you to be held accountable if you're also hold them accountable in return.

Having a partner isn't enough, though, if you never follow up with them. Habits are simply a cadence of performance, and they deserve a cadence of accountability. Have fun with this one: build a scoreboard, hand out trophies. Do what you've got to do to as accountability partners to motivate one another. In the beginning days of a habit, it may be good to check in with each other daily. As you get a few days under your belt, a weekly habit typically proves an effective reporting cadence.

Focus on being, not doing

Our resolutions don't work because we're biting off too much at once or are too focused on doing rather than becoming. So let's change it up. Find a focus that drives you, habits that lift you, and a coach that challenges you with a regular cadence.

Ask yourself the question: What one habit can I add to my life that would have the greatest effect in the long run? Then, add the habit, rinse, repeat.

Best of luck to you this new year. Hey 2018, it's nice to meet you.

Adam Pingel is a published author and Client Partner for FranklinCovey. In this capacity, he partners with companies on behavioral change initiatives to achieve specific business results. He lives near Nashville, TN with his wife and 3 kids.