I have a confession to make: I have never been very good at making New Year’s resolutions. At least not intentionally.  A few years ago, I got into the habit of setting goals, following through and achieving those goals that I decided for myself.  So, why should anyone declare to a bunch of people after a couple of bottles of bubbly how they’re going to change themselves and the world starting with first thing in the morning?  If you do them just once and then make a habit of doing them over and over again, they are no longer resolutions. They become your goals.

What is a Resolution Anyway?

This is a great place to start. After all, if you don’t know what a “resolution” is, it’s kind of hard to pick them.  A “resolution” is defined by Webster as “the act of resolving.” A little further down on the page I found a definition that I liked a little better: “the act of determining.” Either way, we’re either “resolving” or “determining” to do something different from what we did in the previous year.  Maybe we ate a little too much and exercised too  little and it’s starting to show.  That would lead us to a resolution.  Maybe there’s a little too much month at the end of the money and the pinch is starting to hurt a little too much.  That would lead us to another resolution.  One of my resolutions I had a few years ago was to wake up with a lot fewer hangovers in the year and it led to my abandoning drinking alcohol altogether.  A year or two later I resolved to quit coughing so much and determined that I liked running more than I liked coughing, so I gave up smoking cigarettes.  I’m by no means perfect, but I list these as examples only, however, I highly recommend stopping drinking heavily and smoking cigarettes.

That leads us to define a “resolution” as a “desire for an improvement or a change,” at least in this context.

What does resolve mean?

If you have read any of this blog, you’ll remember that I’m a big fan of a man named Jim Rohn.  He has left us now, but he did leave us with some great advice.  I have invested some of my hard-earned money into some of his advice because it’s good advice to have.  Some of the advice he gave was on the word “resolve” and it’s meaning.  As Mr. Rohn tells the story, he was speaking to a group of children in school and the topic of the word resolve meant.  He tried to answer it to the best of his ability and then a little girl gave the best definition that he had ever heard: “I will keep trying until…” That, by the way, is a great definition of “resolve:” I will keep on trying until I die.

How to Decide On Your Resolutions: Where Does It Hurt?

Where do people get ideas for these resolutions anyway? One source I found is the most unlikely of sources: the federal government.  Of all the things, in my opinion, the government should NOT be helping me with, it’s my new year’s resolutions.  I really think they have more important things they should be doing right now (but that’s another blog post).  The best way to determine what to change in your life is to ask yourself the question “Where does it hurt?” This comes from another of the wisest men I have ever listened to, Brain Tracy. I would also highly recommend listening to both Brian Tracy and Jim Rohn.  They have a lot of great information.  That could be your first resolution.

The Resolution To Keep Resolving

What happens when you keep a new year’s resolution to keep resolving all year.  That begins another pattern.  That’s when resolutions stop staying resolutions and become goals.  When you keep resolving to resolve all year and your resolutions become goals, then that leads to improving your life and the lives of the people around you.  When you start leading in your life all sorts of wonderful changes and opportunities can open up for you.  They did for me and I’m just getting started.