I’m getting tired of writing about politics.  Some of that is seasonal.  This was a Presidential election year, so everything has been politicized.  Elections are behind us, and holidays are ahead of us.  

It’s time for a break with a look ahead to what is next.  As such, you’re getting a New Year’s column a couple of weeks early.  I’m well into planning for it, and if you too are finding yourself in a bit of a rut, perhaps you should be too.

I don’t do “resolutions” for a variety of reasons. The resolutions we tend to make around New Year’s are somewhat Shakespearean.  They often lack sound and fury but too often signify nothing.  

If you or I really want to make changes and see results, we need to spend more than a few minutes coming up with a few platitudes about ourselves that sound nice, but are forgotten long before college football crowns a national champion.  There’s a difference between a resolution and a goal.  A real goal involves an actual plan.

In these plans, these goals need specificity.  They need metrics.  They must be realistic, have a deadline, and be measured along the way for progress.  

They need our attention daily.  We have to be honest with ourselves about what we really want to accomplish, how and when we’re going to do that, and our willingness to make adjustments when things don’t go according to the first draft.  

It’s also helpful to know what to do when we succeed. Do we go back to what we were doing, with all the old habits that caused the need for corrective action?  Do we know how to build on success?  

This part is often overlooked because with resolutions, we don’t really expect to succeed.  With true goal planning, we should not only chart a path of steps to get there, but we need to know what we hope to do once we have an achievement.  

Always, always build a reward in the plan for when goals are met.  We then must also build time to set a new plan for what’s next.  This shouldn’t wait until another year rolls around lest bad habits creep back in.

I have a process for this that I’ve used off and on for decades, born out of a time management class I was forced to take as a new corporate manager a couple of years out of college.  When I’ve used it, I’ve done well.  

When I’ve ignored it – sometimes good things happen and sometimes I’ve regressed.  Either way, I wasn’t controlling the narratives that ultimately were important to me.  That, at its center, is what a comprehensive personal plan should be about.  Not so much the control part, as we still have to react to people and events on a daily basis that we have absolutely no control over.  But we do have the power to determine how we react to and mitigate outside influence that are barriers to getting us what we want out of life.

I’ll use an example about exercise, as too many of us use the New Year as the time we say we’ll get in shape.  We all know that’s a justification for eating and drinking way too many calories over the holidays. We’ll get what we want today, and we’ll pay for it later. 

We then spend a few days flailing about at the gym or walking outside when it’s too cold. We get friends to promise to join us. Then, when they don’t show up, that’s our excuse to quit.  

What I’ve had the most difficult time with over the years in my battle with the gym was when and how to take personal responsibility to do things alone when my workout partner decided it was time to quit.  Sometimes it’s helpful to do things with others. Sometimes we need to be reminded that we’re the only ones responsible for ourselves and our outcomes.

I now do some form of exercise daily, and I haven’t missed a day in almost 6 years. I’ve found groups that I enjoy seeing at the gym, track, and pool.  I look forward to talking to them when they’re there. But the goal is independent of whether they show up or not.  

You’ve got a few weeks left to think about it.  If you must wait to start, don’t arbitrarily start on January 2^nd, and don’t try to change any habit starting on a Monday.  I beg of you to only try to change one major thing or habit at a time.

Most importantly, get a plan. Try something. Expect to fall short along the way. Start over when you do.  And, above all, remember that change is hard, but you’re the one in charge of making that happen – and celebrating your success when you do.