Why You Should Stop Making Promises and Do This Instead

New Year, New You! Why does this phrase sound so familiar?

That's because every year we make a promise to do better. We promise to change things that are no longer working for us.

• No doubt, earlier this year you vowed to lose 10 pounds or more. (How's that working out?)
• You swore you'd become the type of leader that you wished you had.
• You told your spouse or your best friend that you'd be leaving the job that's sucking the life out of you.

It's easy to make promises and a whole lot more work to keep your word.

I get it. The feeling of being overscheduled and overwhelmed prevents us from taking action. Or maybe we've gotten so used to using this as an excuse, that this has become part of our DNA.

Or maybe we do nothing because we don't know how to make the changes we've committed to making. Which of course, makes us feel worse about ourselves and gives us more stuff to vow to change come the New Year.

As Cher said to Nicholas Cage in the movie Moonstruck, "Snap Out of It!"

Here's what to do instead:

Get honest with yourself. If you're entirely satisfied with the way you lead your people and you really don't give a darn what others think (even though in this case, you might want to), then stop promising yourself and others that you're going to work on your leadership skills.

If this is the case, and you're currently working with a coach, do yourself and the coach a favor. Terminate the relationship. This one small move will free you up to work on things you care about.

Keep it Simple. Review your priorities and choose to move forward the one thing that will move you forward a mile, rather than trying to move ten items on your list forward an inch.

Here's a great question to help you decide where to focus, courtesy of my mentor Alan Weiss.

If you could only accomplish one thing this year, but it would be your legacy, what would it be?

Less talk. More action. Don't you just hate listening to people who do nothing but talk about what they're going to do? Wholly crap...have I just described you? You can avoid being the one that people are talking about (and not in a very favorable way) by focusing on the task at hand.

Break things down into manageable chunks. Say you believe you'd be a much better leader if you were able to increase trust and collaboration with your team members. That's a very noble goal, although a lofty one if you try to accomplish this in one fell swoop.

Jot down actionable steps that will help you achieve this goal. Which ideas are you willing to commit to right now? Choose a couple and don't worry about selecting the right one. All will work. Just pick a few and do something to move forward.

? Matuson Consulting, 2019. All Rights Reserved.

Need help? Email me at Roberta@matusonconsulting to learn more about my new VIP offering. You come to me and we spend a day together working on matters that are top of mind for you. Terrific way to set yourself up for success in 2020 and beyond.