Personal Growth: How Are Your Resolutions Holding Up?

If you are like most people, every January you make a few New Year’s Resolutions: “This is the year I am going to. . . lose that extra 10 pounds, finally get organized, stop watching so much television, etc., etc.” But if you are like most people, by the time you get to mid-February (or even earlier) all of your good intentions, dedication, and will power have succumbed to the relentless force of your daily routine.

Likewise, every year there are articles from various sources telling what you need to do to do to stick to your resolutions, or why they’re so hard to keep. These articles focus on discipline or the lack thereof, habit formation, (i.e., it takes 21 days to turn a new behavior into a habit), will power and how to get it, changing your environment to support the change you want—the list goes on and on.

All of these articles suggest that you need to grow, develop, strengthen, or adopt some behavior that doesn’t come naturally to you. This isn’t the only way to approach meaningful change. In fact, the number one reason why most New Year’s Resolutions fail is that they are set up in a way that requires behavior that is not supported by your Perceptual Style.

Consider the resolution to ‘finally get organized.’ The first step of setting up almost any conventional system of organization is to fill in your calendar, set your goals, create your plan, etc.—but for many people, trying to achieve those simple steps is what keeps them in limbo.  

The fact is, there are only a few Perceptual Styles that can actually use one of these step-by-step organization methods, and those are the types that most likely already somewhat organized!

When we choose a system, approach, or method that does not draw on our inherent natural skills and talents, we are setting ourselves up for failure. As with all intended changes in behavior, New Year’s Resolutions most always fail when they involve set prescriptions or hard and fast rules about ‘how to.’ If the method you choose sounds like work, it probably will be.  But if it sounds easy, or like fun, it will probably be a fit for you.

For instance, an Activity person might dread spring cleaning, but love clearing out space in time for a spring gathering or party. A Visions person might dread a day-by-day checklist for launching a new business, but love doing something everyday for the new business, based on opportunities as they present themselves.

So if you really want to make some lasting and meaningful changes in your life, take the time to discover your inherent Perceptual Style and the natural repertoire of skills that derive from it. When you do, you’ll be able to make resolutions (whatever they are) that work with who you are and how you really operate, and even pick resolutions that allow you to further develop your natural potential. You never know, you just might change your life!