The Power of a New Year’s Resolution in Building Resiliency

Resiliency seems like the “in fashion” superpower these days – it is the buzzword dominating so much of business management content right now, particularly given all the demands and uncertainty in different aspects of our lives. New Year’s Day often signals the turning of a page. I feel like January is time for taking a deep breath of oxygen, stretching our legs and loosening our muscles for the sprint ahead. In our business, we often use January to communicate new goals, launch new initiatives and assemble new teams to push our strategies forward. This year, though, I felt like the page didn’t turn. The start of the year was much like the end of last year. And so, I felt like I needed to focus on my own resiliency a bit in the first full week of the year, and get myself mentally ready to lead our company into the transformational journey of 2021.

On New Year’s Eve, I made a resolution to take one night per week and totally unplug – no technology, no TV, no phone, no work. I put this resolution into action for the first time this week. Here’s what happened:

1. A beautifully cooked dinner, one where I focused on the art of cooking rather than on speed and efficiency.
2. A 90-minute conversation with my spouse on the transitions our family will likely go through later this year.
3. A check-in with my son on how he wants to improve this year.
4. Some encouragement to my daughter in her job hunting.
5. A full night of sleep – without that “jump-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night” moment to solve some type of work problem.

Of course, I found the no technology/no media thing super difficult – there were moments that I paced around the room looking for something to do, or walked past my phone hoping it would ring…I’m sure many of us would have a similar reaction. But, when I woke up the next morning, I experienced a deep, inner satisfaction that I was in tune with myself, moving in concert with my family and optimistic in my outlook of today’s challenges. This New Year's resolution has really pulled me through this week. 

I can’t wait to see what next week holds. And, it makes me wonder what would happen if we all unplugged for a night – would we, as a society, increase our optimism, boost our creativity and feel more connected to each other?