Eating the elephant

So, how are your New Year’s resolutions going?

If you’ve forgotten or abandoned them, you’re not alone. Research has shown that 80 percent of them fail, many within the first few weeks of January.

My theory is that resolutions fail because there are simply too many of them. I think sometimes we want to change the world with one swing of the bat and, sticking with the baseball analogy, we end up fouling off pitches instead of connecting solidly.

There’s a great piece of advice in Brent Gleeson’s highly readable book “Taking Point: A Navy Seal’s 10 Fail-Safe Principles for Leading Through Change.” We have a tendency sometimes to want to tackle everything at once. Gleeson advises that we “eat the elephant one bite at a time.”

I tried something last year. When the calendar flipped to 2020, I resolved to meditate more consistently. I’ve practiced meditation pretty regularly, mostly on, sometimes off, for more than 15 years. But, in all that time, I had never really committed to practicing EVERY. DAY. So, I tried it.

The app that I use as a timer tells me that today is the 210th consecutive day that I have meditated. Some days for as little as five minutes. Over the past several weeks I have sat in meditation for 25 minutes every morning. For the purposes of this blog, however, the amount of time isn’t important. The commitment to daily meditation is.

You know what else is important? I missed a day during the middle of last summer and, instead of giving up and declaring myself to be a failure, I just resumed the next morning. What’s the saying? Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

James Clear’s best selling “Atomic Habits” is all about developing habits that lead to consistent and incremental improvement. Small steps. One of Clear’s best tricks is “habit-stacking.” That means intentionally following an already-good habit with another one you’re trying to develop. I meditate after I brush my teeth. Every morning. Now, it’s automatic.

If you’re still focusing on a resolution or two, keep going. Don’t quit. If you’ve quit your resolutions already, don’t be afraid to re-start. Then re-start again if you have to. And if, on January 15, 2021 you decide to embark upon a path of achievement or improvement, don’t worry that the new year is already under way. Start right where you are.