Did You Quit Yet?

23% of resolutions are broken within one week after the start of the New Year.

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We’re already two weeks into the New Year, and 2024 (at least for me) is starting off as one of the busiest years I’ve had in terms of travel and opportunity.  I’m hopeful you too are off to a fantastic start to this new year, and 2024 brings you much, much more of what you’re looking for.

One of the traditions we see at the start of each year is the making of so-called “New Year’s Resolutions”.  It’s a promise you make with yourself to stop a bad habit, start a new habit, or improve yourself in some way.

Interestingly enough, this Western world tradition has its origins in the Eastern world.

In ancient Babylonian culture, the Akitu Festival symbolized the start of a new year. During this celebration, the citizens of Babylon would make promises to the gods, in hopes of gaining their favor and approval in the new year. It was also an appointed time to return borrowed items from other citizens.  By making promises to the gods, they hoped to gain their favor in the new year.

The Chinese New Year, celebrated by millions each year, is linked to the lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is a time of celebration, rededication to improving oneself, and enjoying specific cuisines that are said to bring a person good luck in the new year.  Families gather together for the Nian Ye Fan, a special dinner where they burn incense to remember their ancestors.  Older family members give money to the children as a symbol of good luck and fortune in the new year.

In Israel, New Year occurs in the late summer or early autumn. It is commemorated with the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, where the Jewish people pray, recommitting themselves to Yahweh as they eat symbolic foods, such as loaves dipped in honey and pomegranates to remind them of the commandments in the Torah. They also blow the traditional Shofar, a ram’s horn.

But the current iteration of New Year is tied to New Year’s Resolutions.

Millions of people around the world make resolutions as they celebrate the start of a new year. It is an annual tradition, but one that has lost its meaning along the way.

In ancient times, the start of a new year was a time of recommitment, rededication, and renewal. It was a time of reflection and a time of introspection. Ancient people groups would pledge to their gods to do certain things (or not do certain things) to gain their favor and approval. They wanted the god’s protection and blessings. To them, a resolution, a firm decision to do or not do something, actually meant something.

They were resolute, fully determined, to accomplish what they pledged to do.

Today, what we see in most of the Western World is an expression of hopes and wishes, not a genuine pledge to alter, change, improve, learn, grow, adapt, or expand in some way.  Often these so-called resolutions are uttered without a lot of conscious thought. It is just an expression of what we would LIKE to see happen. However, we aren’t really making a dedicated commitment to do what is required to bring about that change in our lives.

Why would I say that?

A February 2023 study conducted by Fischer College of Business validated much of what I just shared with you.  By the end of the first week of January, 23% of those who made a New Year’s Resolution had already given up on that goal. That’s roughly 1 in 4 people. By February 1^st, that number of Quitters had risen to 43%.  Most people SAY they want to change but are unwilling to go through the difficult process of actually changing.

So how many people actually finish what they start on January 1?

The Fischer Study found that only 9% of Americans will see their resolutions through to completion.  That’s less than 1 in 10 people.

Those are not good odds if you’re going to the Casino.

It is no wonder that 95% of us live average, mediocre, lackluster lives. We can’t even follow through on a simple commitment to lose 10 pounds, go to bed an hour earlier, exercise for 20 minutes three times a week, eat a healthy diet, drink more water, or read for 20 minutes a day.

So, I ask the question I opened with at the start of today’s conversation:

Have you quit yet?

How you answer that question says a LOT about you.

I believe most of us WANT a better life for ourselves. We WANT to have a thinner waistline, a fatter wallet, more rewarding relationships, and a fulfilling career. We WANT to lead ourselves well, make good choices, and experience more success in life.

The problem isn’t with our WANTING…the problem is with our DOING.

If we do the same things we’ve always done, we’re only going to get more of what we are currently getting in life. If we keep eating junk food and don’t exercise regularly, we pack on the pounds. If we don’t manage our spending, we end up with an empty wallet. If we constantly come home stressed and take it out on our family, we eventually find ourselves single.

It is not for a lack of wanting. It is lacking the RESOLVE to get there.

Imagine you’re on the beach and a bottle washes up.  Inside the bottle is a pirate’s map with directions to where Blackbeard buried a chest of gold doubloons. You get all excited and start making plans to spend the money now that you’re rich. You envision your life-changing for the better because you’re going to become an instant millionaire.

But, you never take the time to follow the directions on the map and dig up the buried treasure.

Your life could be forever changed, but you lack the resolve to do what is required to make that happen. There’s an old proverb that says he who has good intentions but fails to act on them will never accomplish anything.  But I think Jose Eduardo dos Santos, the former president of Angola who brought independence to his country after years of civil war said it well,

“There is no magic wand that can resolve our problems. The solution rests with our work and discipline.” 

Remember, successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do sometimes, or not at all.

Are you RESOLVED to see that things change for the better in your life, or are you simply going through the motions so you can at least say you tried?  The first answer leads to success. The latter answer leads to a life of excuses, and living far below your potential.

A resolution is a commitment to succeed at SOME thing in SOME way. It requires something of you for that to happen.  That something is commitment, dedication, and tenacity.

Commitment says, “I am resolved.”  When Alexander the Great landed on the shores of Persia, he burned the boats that transported his men across the Sea. This signified there is no going back. The only way is forward. This is what it means to be committed.

My grandfather used to remind me that a chicken contributes to breakfast, but a pig is committed.  If we want to see things change in our lives, we have to be committed.  Burn the boats.  There is no going back to the way things were before.

Dedication says I will do daily what is required to keep moving toward my destiny.  Olympic champion Jesse Owens said, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”  Dedication is daily paying the price to move from where you are to where you want to be.

Football great Vince Lombardi reminded his players, “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.”  Dedication is applying our best selves to achieving the goals we’ve set for our lives and achieving our resolutions.

Tenacity is having a don’t quit attitude.  Tenacious people won’t stop trying until they achieve their goals. Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos, says, “Tenacity is not about avoiding being overwhelmed, but being indomitable in the face of overwhelming odds of your venture’s failure.” Think of Hannibal marching his troops (and a herd of elephants) over the Alps to surprise the Roman Army.  That’s tenacity.

Commitment, dedication, and tenacity. 

If you’re still working on your New Year’s Resolution, good for you.  Don’t quit.  Black Belt Leaders live their lives in the relentless pursuit of Black Belt Excellence.  Let that person be you.

If you are struggling, or have already given up on this year’s goals, dreams, and aspirations, let me leave you with a quote attributed to C.S. Lewis that should inspire you to get back in the game:

“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.”