Resolve To Stop Doing Resolutions

I fucking love New Years Resolutions. Let me count the ways:

• I'm delighted that at this communal zeitgeist of the year, 23% of us pledge to be healthier.
• I'm tickled by the process of reflecting, admitting failure, then reviewing the 54 million articles on Google on how to do better next year.
• I get jazzed up when people do something in behalf of their better self: ditching cigarettes, buying a (soon-to-be abandoned) gym membership, subscribing to a monthly erotica box, etc.

What, you don't wake up Jan 1 excited to draft the roadmap to a better you? Are you jaded by New Years Resolutions? Did Past You fail too many times?

Consider this: maybe you have resolved to not set a New Years Resolution yet you're probably at or running an organization that sets strategic goals. Is setting a goal for an organization any different than a New Years Resolution for yourself?

Don't wiggle out of this citing personal accountability versus organizational accountability: if you willingly work at an organization that has goals, skipping out on setting a personal New Years Resolution is a little hypocritical. We all fear failure.

If you can't get into the Resolution Spirit but still want to continue to grow, I've got the answer for you:

Make a To-Don't List

Ever since my interview with Alanna Fincke on the 20/20 Perspective, I've wholeheartedly embraced making a To-Don't List instead of a New Years Resolution. It's like a Resolution 2.0 because instead of having to do something, you simply have to not do something. Inaction = Success!

Here's some from my To-Don'ts for 2023:

1. Respond to an email while on a call
2. Assume others will fail at things I've failed at
3. Eat more than three types of cheese in one meal

It's a great way of framing growth for yourself. Besides, if I had to hear the words "SMART Goals" again, I'd puncture my own kidneys.

A To-Don't List also works organizationally, though a group of people still need a common goal to aim at. Think of a To-Don't List as a complement to your organizational strategic goals.

Here are some To-Don'ts for Learn to Scale in 2023:

1. Buy a software without taking 24 hours to evaluate if it's a good purchase
2. Develop a custom solution and remarket it as a standard service
3. Give Facebook/Meta any money this year

What will you resolve to NOT do this year? Shout out your To-Don'ts on LinkedIn with me.

"In 2023, I Will Stop..."

---

A TL;DR from the CRO

Turning three years old makes you re-evaluate your life priorities: for example, I've pledged to stop chewing shoelaces.

-Roman Noodles, Chief Ruff Officer

---

A TL;DR From The Archive - Four Takeaways from Finish

Still set on setting a New Years Resolution? Integrate these four takeaways into your goal-setting process and you'll be much more likely to reach your goals. Read how...​

---

I took down my To-Don't List from 2022 and it's weirdly accurate as to how my life ended up changing this past year.

Most notably, one of them was to not go 100% one-hundred percent of the time. I needed to not define myself by my entrepreneurial pursuits and allow myself to be more than a business builder.

That's how I got into rock tumbling last summer: it was something non-work-related for me to channel my Achiever energy.​

Now I've got piles of shiny rocks as proof of my success...at not going 100%.

​

Don't plan for a better new year; plan for a smaller one.

Dan from Learn to Scale​

---

​Opt-out from the newsletter | Unsubscribe from all emails | Update your Preferences | www.learntoscale.us, Boston, MA 02119

​

PS. This year, I won't eat a special treat while doing my makeup​