Resolutions, commitments and new beginnings

According to the Cambridge online dictionary, a New Year’s resolution is ‘a promise that you make to yourself to start doing something good or stop doing something bad on the first day of the year’.

I’ve never liked the idea of a New Year’s resolution – it has always felt like a conspiracy for failure! Everyone expecting you to have some resolutions that you would be eager to share, and yet no one expecting you to keep them.

In fact, many resolutions like ‘going to the gym’ are not expected to last past February, with most resolutions petering out by April. Only 6% of those setting New Year’s resolutions in the UK still keeping them 9-12 months later.

There are a number of reasons why New Year’s resolutions often fail. Here are the most common reasons:

• Resolutions are often vague wishes of good intentions.
• The lure of changing something on 1 January is a great way to procrastinate, eating into your desire for real change.
• Having a date to make change adds a lot of needless pressure, increasing the chances that you are unlikely to start your resolutions for fear of failure.
• Your environment likely supports failure as those around you publicly give up on their resolutions and urge you to do so too.
• It’s easier to break a promise to yourself, than it is to others.

My Maverick nature kicks out against most things ‘I’m supposed to do’, choosing instead to do things that ‘I commit to do’.

A personal commitment

One of my annual personal commitments is to review my progress in the year in October, decide strategy in November, start making changes in December.

During this process I like to write a review of the year from a global and micro perspective, for my magazine on 31stDecember. Here’s last year’s review.

I also like to write an article on 1st January looking at the year ahead from a more micro perspective. Here is this year’s article, it will be used as part of my 31 December 24 review article.

Alpha and Omega – the beginning and the end.

Reintroducing myself to my network is another personal commitment I made. Initially I wanted to do this when my new website was ready. However, despite the genuine desire to have this completed by September of last year, it remains stubbornly ? complete.

Realising that it’s incompletion is due more to what I want it to emphasise is still in flux, rather than procrastination, I have decided that it’s time to do that now.

Judith Germain is …

I founded The Maverick Paradox and Maverick Paradox Media (popular podcast and magazine) because I passionately believe that anyone can enhance their leadership capability.

Therefore, we catalyse transformation by creating clear thinking and decisive leaders. We empower leaders to act objectively by enabling them to strategise, innovate and execute solutions that make a difference to the challenges they face.

Last year was a humbling year where Maverick Paradox won 2 awards and I was a Finalist in 5!

Usually, we work in the fields of Leadership, Culture, Change and Diversity with business owners, leaders, C-Suite and organisations that want us to help them to catalyse and deploy transformation. This may mean, training, consulting, mentoring, facilitation or coaching, or something else.

Whilst I assist the team in supporting clients in this way, I specialise in senior level transformation whether that’s immersive mentoring, senior leadership training, consulting or coaching. Helping business owners to grow their business or speaking at events is another key love of mine.

Talking about me, I see the world from a Maverick perspective, challenge often and enable leaders to amplify their impact and influence.

You are most likely to see me smiling the most when I have a mic in my hand or listening to a mentee telling me how they have just aced a difficult challenge.

Oh, and dancing. I love to dance!

My belief that anyone can enhance their leadership capability will keep me focused on catalysing transformation. This is regardless of whether they hire Maverick Paradox, read The Maverick Paradox Magazine, listen to a Maverick Paradox Podcast episode (from Maverick Paradox Media), or work with me personally. Speaking engagements, mastermind groups and learning events will see me engaging with many.

A return to that first personal commitment

Understanding the commitment to review the year from a global and micro perspective in the last quarter, usually means my thoughts turn in August to what I would like to be doing different the following year without a rush to consolidate anything.

Allowing new ideas to percolate and solidify before having to make any changes. Letting neuroscience do the heavy lifting rather than myself.

Defining, designing and delivering strategy over the last quarter allows me time to give the following year’s changes sufficient thought and due attention. It also means that unforeseen personal circumstances do not derail the desire for change. Not having set myself up for a 1st January change date means that I don’t beat myself up when or if slippage occurs.

It’s the journey not the destination that’s interesting. I prefer to see myself as a Sat Nav, rerouting when challenges occur, rather than forcing myself to stop when I face what seems like an obstacle that’s difficult to past.

I am in favour of new beginnings though. Lots of them.

Whenever we make a change, we have a new beginning. A new way of seeing things, a new way of beginning, a new timetable of change. New beginnings free from the status quo and the thinking that got you there.

A fresh start, fuelled by the learnings from the past and the desire for fruitful change. A recognition of future failure and a need for another new beginning.

Life is a virtuous circle, a new beginning an obvious start to a process and a less obvious end of a process.

So, where does this leave me? At the beginning of a new thing or at the end of an old thing? The answer is yes, that’s where I am. Where are you?

I want to help you improve your leadership capability and execution, so that you can thrive in a complex, constantly changing environment. If you want to be the best leader you can be or empower the most effective leadership teams within your organisation, then subscribe to this newsletter (do comment and share), check out my book, read my magazine, and listen to my podcast!

You could even hire me to help you make that difference!

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# check out my website: maverickparadox.co.uk

Judith Germain is the founder and principal consultant of The Maverick Paradox, a leadership consultancy that utilises Maverick Leadership principles to catalyse transformation. Enabling business owners, leaders, the C-Suite, and organisations, to thrive in complex, constantly changing environments by improving their diversity of thought, impact, influence and leadership capability.

She is the leading authority on Maverick Leadership, an author, C-Suite and CEO Mentor, consultant, trainer, and speaker. Judith is a Brainz 500 Global honouree, recognised as one of 500 Companies and Influential Leaders who are recognised for their entrepreneurial success, achievements, and dedication to helping others, and a winner and finalist of a number of awards.

Full bio and enquiries on how to hire Judith at maverickparadox.co.uk

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