The Process of Establishing Resolutions

There are plenty of resolutions floating around right now -- How to be better, fitter, younger, lose weight, gain friends, and oh so many that revolve around money -- how to make more, spend less, invest, and save. Then, there's work! Are we going back to the brick-and-mortar work? Or, will we continue to work remotely, from our home offices? What do we hope to accomplish through our work efforts this year?

Some of us will easily knock out our resolutions very early in this new year. Others may take a bit longer, depending on the challenges they task themselves with achieving. There are those who will, undoubtedly, consider their resolutions a lost cause and stop working on them.

Whether or not we achieve any of our resolutions depends entirely on our mindset. In its most basic form, it is a matter of the amount of strength we devote to the task at hand, both mentally and physically.

Obstacles will appear during the year, in an attempt to impede our progress to our goals. The manner in which we approach these impediments will determine whether or not we reach our destinies.

It seems strange talking about obstacles so early in the year, doesn't it? It is somewhat self-defeating to talk about what might go wrong. On the other hand, it is one of the necessary steps in the planning process as we define our goals for the year. We anticipate the possibility of setbacks along the way and develop plans to side-step these hills when they pop up in our pathway.

As an entrepreneur, I always had two sets of goals for the New Year. The first set of goals was always the most realistic--what I felt relatively certain I could achieve, that would be a higher level of production than the prior year.

My second set of goals was always outlandish. With these goals, I would set the bar so high it looked impossible to jump over. I would always set five goals of this nature, with the hope of achieving just one of them. More often than not, I would achieve one or two of the higher goals every year.

What I learned from this is revealing. We sometimes place limits in our minds that are way below what we can achieve, and we do this routinely. It is as if we doubt our own capabilities. We believe we don't have the needed energy level to produce these results.

Note to self: Take one dose of P.M.A. and call me in the morning.

When we doubt our abilities, we gut our attempts to reach our goals. Remedial action is needed to get us back on track, to get us moving toward our goals again. I call it maintaining a positive mental attitude, PMA.

Henry Ford stated, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right.”

This emphasizes how much our attitude determines our successes or failures. Keeping a PMA at all times is integral to our success. Another famous inventor, Thomas A. Edison, illustrates the importance of attitude more eloquently:

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

This "never-give-up, never-stop-trying" attitude shows us how these problem-solvers think. The word failure is not found in their vocabulary. They have a dogged determination to succeed. They remain fixated on the solution, not the problem. To that end, they were always hyper-focused on the end result.

Here, at the beginning of the year, it is up to each of us, individually, to clear our minds, to be hyper-focused on the challenges and rewards that are before us. It is up to us to solve whatever problems arise, and it is up to us to maintain positivity as we attempt to reach our goals.

I hope 2022 is your best year ever!

Thanks for reading this!