Rethinking Resolutions for Lasting Change

It’s January. New year, new you! 2024 - it is going to be THE year! You’re going to drink more water, hit the gym regularly, and make homemade, healthy meals that your children will magically love. You are going to do it all and simultaneously build that empire and hit those business goals.

Here we are, just a few weeks into January. How’s it going? How’s it really going?

According to some studies, about 80% of us who set New Year’s resolutions have already given up. And coming out of the woodwork is a lot of content designed to make you feel bad about that. 

And it is missing the whole point. 

New Year’s resolutions are missing the whole point. 

Let’s talk about why I am anti-resolution and how I set my focus forward instead. 

Goodbye Resolutions, Hello Vision 

There are two big problems with resolutions: they focus on the short-term and they are shallow.

Your vision will force you to dig deeper.

One of my resolutions for the longest time was to drink more water. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good goal to have. Drinking water is great for your health and does wonders for your energy and your mind. 

However, it’s a shallow goal. It never dug into the root of my problem. What were the deeper goals that I had? Did I simply want to be hydrated, or did I want to come to life? What did having strength and longevity mean to me?

Considering my purpose made me think on a deeper level about where my obstacles were. It made me consider where I had become disconnected from the life I wanted to live and the life I was currently living. 

Your vision will help you think long-term 

Setting resolutions did not make me think about my long-term plan. I wasn’t thinking about Chernell in 30, 40 and even 50 years. I was thinking only about the short term. 

When I started thinking about my vision, I started asking different questions. What did I really want out of life? Who did I want to be in the future? What actions am I going to take today to become that person?  What is the life that I want to create? 

From there, I could set smaller goals that supported that journey, which helped me keep working towards realizing my purpose.

The Purpose vs. the Plan 

Consider the difference between your purpose (or vision) and a plan. A plan is focused on the immediate action to reach immediate goals. A purpose focuses on the destination. 

We can think of our lives as a long road trip. Our purpose or our vision is like our final destination. We know where we want to go. 

The plan is not fixed. Sometimes we will come up against obstacles, detours, twists and turns. The plan will sometimes have to change. We may need to take another route.

So when we focus on resolutions, we may see “failure” when we do not follow the plan. However, when we keep our minds on our purpose, and that purpose is crystal clear, it becomes only a small detour on a much bigger path.

Resolutions ignore the journey 

When we focus too closely on goals, we begin to think of success in terms of landmarks and milestones. I will achieve this goal when I have done XYZ. 

While goals like that have their place, an entire process happens while we are working towards our goals. This process does not get enough love. 

It is the process of becoming the person you are meant to be. 

Every goal that you reach - or that you do not reach - is teaching you a lesson. It’s giving you the skills you may need to fight another battle down the road. It’s giving you resilience and showing you what you are capable of when you endure. It may be giving you the tools you need to lift up someone else when they face the same struggle. 

When we focus on reaching the next landmark, we miss the journey altogether. 

And the journey is where the real magic happens. 

Finding and realizing your purpose 

I’m Chernell and I help women just like me exist as the next level versions of themselves.

Whether it’s conquering their cravings or building energy and focus into their lives, we work together to help you truly live with vitality. 

Want to get to know me a little better? Let’s have a breakthrough call - you can book that here. During our time together, we can talk about honing your vision.