The big problem that 92% of people face: utilizing few skills

92% of people who set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them.

New Year’s Eve is traditionally the time when people set their resolution for the new year. Statistically, how many of us will be successful? 92% of people who set New Year’s goals never actually achieve them (University of Scranton, 2016). That’s a 92% failure rate. What was your main goal for this year, do you remember? Did you manage to achieve it?

The reason for this low probability is that most people don’t know and don’t use the skills, tools and techniques that could help them increase their chances. Most people:

• don’t set their goals correctly;
• don’t define a routine to increase consistency and discipline;
• don’t look for the right support from others;
• don’t link their goals to their emotions, and therefore lose their wow motivation; and
• don’t create a proper project plan to achieve their goals, and therefore change their initial view from positive to negative and give up after a few days.

People who achieve success might not only be lucky or even born with extreme gifts and skills. In most cases, there is a system behind their success. A system they follow, whether consciously or not.

Professional Project Management skills can be used to achieve yearly resolutions.

The system for success combines skills, tools and techniques that are taught to and used by professional project managers every day, but mostly with a focus on professional projects. The good news is, they can be adapted to life projects and learned by anyone. They can be used to achieve yearly resolutions, yours, of your family and of your friends.

5 steps to set “Family & Friends” resolutions that will get achieved.

It can even be an interesting and funny experience, during the New Year’s Eve, to discuss about resolutions openly in a group. Below I will present the 5 steps to follow and make the next year the best year ever for you, your family and friends.

1. Prepare the “Family & Friends resolutions” board

To start, you just need to save and print the picture below. That picture is the board where you will write each person resolution.

The game start by you promoting a general discussion on resolutions for the following year.

2. Setting the resolution or goal for next year

Getting clear on describing goals is a crucial factor for success. Clarity is power! That is why goals should be well described, and the SMART method is a good way of achieving that. Below is a graphic representation of the SMART method.

As much as possible, everyone should try that their goal description is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely bounded.

You should give the example, by being first. You could even prepare your resolution description before, so that you set an example and expectation how the structure should be.

3. Define the accountability partners

One of the main reasons people fail, even when they have defined their resolution and are ready to start executing it, relates to the lack of accountability. Many people give up on their resolution when they face their first challenge or failure. The problem is that if no one knows about your resolutions and if you don’t have an accountability partner, when you face the inevitable roadblocks, you will be tempted to give up instead of trying again.

An accountability partner is someone who is accountable for enabling the success of the set resolution. The accountability partner is the person who is aware of the resolution and who will motivate and check the progress at predefined regular intervals, trying to help and support.

4. Set commitments by everyone signing the resolution board

It is easy to have ideas and talk, but when someone need to sign something second thoughts start to arise because the responsibility moves to another level. Everyone need to see the Resolution board as a contract they do with themselves.

5. Showing the resolution board to the world

After filling out the board, you should digitalize it and send to everyone that participated. If everyone agrees, you could bring the game to another level, by sharing the board in social media groups using the ashtag #ProjectYourLife. Sharing the board with the world will foster further increase accountability. You have to say to the group that life is not about the shame to fail, it is about the courage to try. If someone fails, the only thing that the person needs to do is, to try again, and again, and one day the success will come.

If not everyone agrees, but some would like to do it, just hide the resolutions that are not to share, take a picture and post it to the social media groups, notifying the participants and using the ashtag #ProjectYourLife.

After sharing your commitment with the world, you should put up the resolutions board on the wall. It will serve as a visual roadmap for the successful completion of all resolutions. Doing so has the advantage that it will remind you about the commitment that you and your family & friends have made.

Bonus: Use more skills to increase even further the chance of success

Knowing all your Family & Friends resolutions gives you the understanding about what each of them wants to achieve and therefore you can try to think in additional ways to help and serve them in their mission. Defining goals and accountability are only 2 Project Management skills, in the book “Project Your Life” there are 5 more skills that you can use, to increase by more then 7 times the chance of success.

I wish You a Fa-Bu-Lux Life and a happy New Year 2023 🙂

—

Book information is available in:

— Amazon (FREE preview): link

— Book website (book delivery only possible for Portugal): link