Somewhere I heard that by January 17 over 40% of people don’t stick to their resolutions, and within 1 year of the resolution, only 8% kept them. In doing more research, I found even worse numbers. The fact of the matter is they are certainly not easy to stick to.
I do not set resolutions because I know myself. I do set business goals because they drive me. There are a few reasons why people do not stick to their resolutions: lack of self-awareness and discipline.
To be self-aware means you have to be able to make yourself do things you know you should do even when you don’t want to do them. People who are self-aware know their thoughts and the feelings that come from them. They can identify the negative thoughts that misguide them and work through them. They know how to perceive the emotions and behaviors that come from them.
People who have self-discipline are able to make themselves do things they know they have to do even when they don’t want to. It is this way in business all the time: there is always something to be done you don’t want to do but you do it anyway to grow your business.
I have done fitness competitions and had to develop a lot of discipline with food and exercise to get my body to look the way it needed to for the competitions. Athletes are great examples too. They do all the practice so they perform at their best for the game or competition. The amount of self-control necessary is sometimes unfathomable.
There is good news: you can learn about yourself and become more self-aware. Once you understand your thoughts, how your thoughts create your feelings, and how your feelings create your actions you can control your results. Controlling your thoughts is possible and crucial to self-awareness, self-discipline, and growing personally as well as professionally. Honestly, you cannot have professional growth without personal growth.
