Do you know the #1 reason why most New Year’s resolutions don’t pan out? Most people don’t hold themselves accountable. In fact, 95% of the people that make New Year’s resolutions, don’t even write them down. Most people think about their goals and they implement strategies to achieve those goals, but because they don’t hold themselves accountable, they give up when things get tough. That’s when they’ll offer excuses like, “I just don’t have the time right now” or “I tried, but it is just too hard – I’ll try again next year.” They’ll give up because they haven’t made a true commitment to themselves. Instead of joining the quitters, differentiate yourself from them. When you decide on a goal you want to achieve, hold yourself accountable. Write yourself a letter of resolution.
A letter of resolution is a contract you make with yourself that keeps you on the path to achieving your goal. Your letter of resolution is the tangible form of your commitment to yourself. It acts as your beacon of support against the overwhelming challenges on the path to achieving your goal. It’s the reminder that says, “I signed up for this. I knew it would be challenging when I signed up, but I will stick with it because of all the benefits coming my way.” Thus by writing your goal down on paper, you’re programing your subconscious mind to work on achieving that goal. It’s a self-fulfilling prophesy.
To help you better understand what a letter of resolution should look like, I have posted my letter of resolution for the April ’09 raw food diet experiment. I wrote it for myself during that experiment knowing that I would read it at least once during the 30-Day trial. Reading it, you will notice it has some serious, as well as some humorous parts. I know myself and I know what I respond to, so I tailored my resolution in such a way that if I had to rely on it, just reading it would obliterate any hint of temptation. Even though my letter of resolution was used to help me stay on the raw food diet, you can tailor your letter of resolution to your specific situation.
I’ll let you read it and then I will make some suggestions on how you can construct your own. Also keep in mind that I don’t know you on a personal level, so if there is something that you react positively to – that would help you accomplish your newly CHOSEN goal - then include it in your letter of resolution. Here’s mine:
“I, Teodor Lazar, am making a resolution to myself to stay on the raw food diet for a period of 30 Days beginning on April 1, 2009. I am doing this because I believe the raw food diet will make me a happier and healthier human being. I am willing to sacrifice all cooked foods in order to attain the benefits of a raw food diet. By sticking to the raw food diet, I know that I will soon be enjoying more energy, higher mental clarity, and increased athletic ability. I know that this is a sudden lifestyle change and I am brave enough to accept the consequences. This change will require courage and discipline. I will not falter from this path and I will resist temptation in all of its yummy and delicious forms. My stomach will not succumb to the cooked food temptress or be a slave to a meat master. If I experience any doubts or temptations of any kind, I will read this resolution and I will come back with the resolve of a champion. I will not fail in my mission. I will not betray myself! I will succeed in eating only raw foods for the full 30 days!”
You may be asking yourself if I actually used this letter of resolution during my trial. Well, I had two weak moments toward the end of my raw food experiment and it was the letter of resolution that got me through both of them. As soon as I felt tempted to eat some cooked food, I paused what I was doing, took out my resolution, and read it to myself. After I read my resolution, I reemerged with the steadfastness of a Spartan!
Having crafted my resolution, I have some ideas on how you can construct your own. While writing your own letter of resolution, keep the following points in mind:
Give Yourself a Time Frame
A time frame gives you an idea of how long you will have to stick with your goal before it is accomplished. It’s a deadline that starts at point A (stating your goal) and ends at point B (achieving your goal). The time frame can be shorter or longer depending on how comfortable you feel with the constraints you’ve placed on yourself. For example, if you have given yourself 10 years to quit smoking, that’s an extremely lax time frame. There’s too much room to put it off until later. On the other hand, if you’ve given yourself 1 month to lose 80 lbs, that’s an extremely tight time frame. It would not only make your goal unrealistic, but might compromise your health in the process. I usually start with 30-Days and adjust accordingly. If I feel I am too pressured to achieve a certain goal within that time period, then I will give myself more time. If I feel I can complete a goal in less than 30-Days, then I will subtract the time needed from those 30-Days and use the rest of the time for other goals. Of course, this is not an excuse to be lazy or to procrastinate. You should be pushing your comfort zones. However, if you feel more time is needed for you to complete your goal, give yourself that time. If you don’t complete your goal within the time period you’ve established and you’ve already granted yourself a couple of extensions, don’t be afraid to start over at a later time. Even if you don’t complete your goal the first time around, chances are you still made some progress in its direction. Don’t give up after just one attempt!
Stress the Benefits
Notice that when you purchase a product you always look for the one that provides you with the most benefits. When choosing a car do you go for the one that eats up gas or the one that you hardly ever have to fill up? The 1 year warranty or the 5 year warranty? Of course you want the fuel efficient model with the 5 year warranty. When adapting a new habit you should be assessing the benefits. Look for all the benefits, then list them in your letter of resolution. By hearing what you will gain out of making a couple of small sacrifices you will motivate yourself to stay on track. If the pros outweigh the cons, you’ll be more inclined to stick with it.
Understand Your Communication Style
Take some time to understand how you communicate with others. Are you more of a feeler, needing to communicate by expressing your emotions or are you an analytical person mostly using your reasoning ability to communicate using logic. The category you fall into has a lot to do with your personality and the way you communicate is often they way you prefer to be communicated with. Take some time and think about how you would like to be talked to if you were trying to stay on the path to achieving a goal. Then write your letter of resolution in that particular communication style. By doing this, you’ll have your own personal pep talk on standby for when you need it.
Write in First Person
By writing the letter of resolution in first person, you’re taking responsibility for your actions. You are telling yourself that YOU have decided on a new goal. This immediately sends a message to your brain empowering you to achieve that goal. By taking personal responsibility, you gain a sense of control and confidence. Your mind moves you to action and activates positive feelings that help you towards the achievement of your goal. Every time you make a small step in the direction of your goal, your mind rewards you for the accomplishment. This soon turns into a snowball effect and you realize that it all started with the “I” statement.
Use Empowering Statements
If you’re looking to achieve a goal, talk to yourself as though you’re already half-way there. Positive statements empower you. They make you feel happy and confident. Even if you just made one small step in your goal’s direction, motivate yourself to keep going. Tell yourself what you will do. Communicate the message, “I will succeed in this endeavor no matter what!” By constantly reinforcing this belief, you improve your chances of succeeding tremendously.
Keep it Short
The letter of resolution is meant to act as a brief reminder. It is best to keep it short, if possible under 250 words. By keeping it short, you can pull it out and read it quickly when you need its support. Making it several pages, would not only be a waste of your time, but would likely turn you off to the idea of sticking to your goal. If you observe most great leaders, they communicate in short paragraphs that are full of meaning and wisdom. Strive towards that.
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After you’ve come up with your resolution, it’s a good idea to make multiple copies of it. Then take those copies and store them in locations where you know you’ll be exposed to them. I usually use a piece of scotch tape to attach a copy of my resolution to my computer screen at home. I’ll also keep one copy in my wallet and another copy hanging off the dashboard of my car. By seeing the message you’ve written yourself, you keep your goal at the forefront of your mind and that increases your chances of achieving it.
If you really want to make sure you absolutely achieve your goal, you can write your resolution out every morning before you start your day and every night before you go to bed. According to Brian Tracy, this is an excellent way to practically guarantee its achievement.
I hope this article was helpful to you. With ammo like this, I can’t imagine anyone falling short, but if you do, don’t be afraid to try again. Remember, it’s not about perfection, it’s about moving the needle in a positive direction. By sticking with your goal, you’ll soon be basking in the sweet rays of success. 
