Time-Released Resolutions

"Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."  -- Benjamin Franklin

I'm one of those hopeless optimists who makes a list of New Year's resolutions each year.  I typically make a long list, categorizing each resolution as PHYSICAL(lose weight; exercise more), MENTAL(read a book a month; take an online course), or SPIRITUAL(daily devotionals; pray more).  Each resolution is specific and would greatly benefit my life; unfortunately, my ambitiously long list rarely survives the first week, let alone January.  

This year, I've decided to look to the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin and adopt what I'm calling "Time-Released Resolutions".  Franklin, in his autobiography, detailed how he decided to achieve 13 "virtues" (such as temperance, order, and frugality) as habits in his life.  Franklin did not work on all 13 at once, however (as I am prone to do each year with my long list of resolutions).  He only worked on one at a time.  As Franklin put it: "My intention being to acquire the Habitude of all these Virtues, I judg'd it would be well not to distract my Attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time, and when I should be Master of that, then to proceed to another, and so on till I should have gone thro' the thirteen."  

Franklin knew it takes time for habits to take root in our lives.  He realized making too many changes at once was likely to cause him to fail at sustaining positive results.  By focusing on one virtue at a time, however, he was better able to make that virtue a habit before moving on to the next change.  He still had a detailed plan for all of the virtues he wanted to improve upon in his life, but he mastered one before he moved on to another, tracking his progress daily and defining specific action steps to achieve each goal.

And so, this year, rather than attempting to implement several resolutions all at once, I am phasing them in over time.  I still have a list of resolutions, grouped in categories where I need improvement; however, my resolutions are time-released.  I won't start the second one until I've mastered the first.  For January, I have resolved to walk 30 minutes a day, each day (and so far, so good!).  My next resolution?  That will have to wait for February… 

What are your “Time-Released Resolutions”? 

Rich Gross

Brigadier General (ret.) Rich Gross is a Co-Founder and Partner at Redwoods Leadership Group, where he leads client engagements and works with teams toward their strategic growth and development.