TF50#101, Plans not Resolutions, 26 December 2022

Hi Team,

Happy Monday and welcome to The Next 50 #101, last year about this time I wrote about reviewing 2021 (always a good idea for business and your personal life).  This year, as we are days away from 2023, I want to challenge you to make plans for better, not just resolutions.

Questions:  1. Did you make a New Year’s Resolution for 2022?  2. Do you remember what it was?  3. Did you keep the resolution?

Resolution, the Oxford Languages definition: resolution – a firm decision to do or not to do something.

Let’s say your 2022 New Year’s resolution was to not eat any sweets*; I would estimate that there is a 99.999% chance you didn’t keep this resolution.  *If this is you and you actually did attain your resolution, please let me know.

Here’s the definition of Plan, also from Oxford Languages: plan – a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something.

Let’s say you are feeling a little flabby as we end 2022 and you decide you are going create a plan to get in better shape.  Your plan is to execute the following, at a minimum, 5 days a week: 10 pull ups, 100 pushups, 1,000m row and 10,000 steps (this is Brian Johnson’s, Heroic, daily minimums).  If you completed this successfully you would have executed the following minimums: 2,600 pull ups, 26,000 pushups, 260,000m rowed and 2,600,000 steps in 2023, even if you realized you were in over your head and reduced the plan by half a few weeks in your still going to be in better shape following your plan.

In my “plan” example you may have noticed there was no mention of 2023.  If you need to work on something, why wait till the first day of the year as if a bunch of magic fairy dust is floating around that day that allows New Year’s Resolutions to be attained; we all know that doesn’t happen or we’d all be rich with 6-pack abs!  Why not start today, ok, ok, tomorrow.

If you like the challenge of making plans for better instead of resolutions and need help, obviously, let me know!

As always share the post with your team or anyone who might find it useful and let me know what you think!

Have a good one, Alex

PS – Be on the lookout for some extra goodness this week as I wrap up year 2 of the TN50 with a few bonus emails.

PSS – Since it is the season when everyone is focused on being better/doing better; check out this rebroadcast of The Drive podcast featuring James Clear, the author of my favorite habits book, Atomic Habits.