Act-O-Lutions - Grasshopper

Resolutions are so yesterday! That’s because the ones you made yesterday have probably already been ignored or sidestepped, or soon will be.

Resolving is a mind based activity. There are no actions attached to thoughts. Thoughts and actions are trains that run on different tracks.

Instead of resolving, I suggest doing “Act-O-Lotions” for the New Year. These are actions that you don’t declare you’re going to do. You do them first and then you can announce them to the world if you choose.

Don’t tell me or anyone else what you’re planning to do. Do it and then tell us.  That’s an “Act-O-Lution.”

Certainly, set a goal for yourself, just don’t shout it from the rooftops or even whisper it to a friend. Do it and then plaster it all over social media if you want.

It’s easy to tell someone what you’re resolving to do, but, by and large, people don’t use their resolve to follow through.

Years ago, I came up with a strategy to not hire people who told me in glowing terms what they were going to do.  In most cases it was hyperbole of the highest order, which, in my experience, leads to disappointment.

I remember a landscaper who I asked to seed a patch of my lawn that was dug up when I had some construction done. He said, “I’m gonna make this place look like a palace.” It was two weeks later and not one blade of grass was showing. I called and called this “palace builder” and got his voicemail every time. He never responded to my messages and the grass never grew.

Maybe it’s just me but I try and live my life by this motto: Do what you say you’re going to do. But I can tell you from experience, it’s not the norm. People say and don’t do with regularity.

So to spare yourself and others disappointment, only do “Act-O-Lutions.” You can put your message up in lights after the fact, but first, you have to act.

All the best,