Why New Year’s Resolutions (and Goal-Setting) Are a Massive Waste of Time

As this year closes and another pops onto the horizon, you’re probably already thinking about the resolutions you want to make and the goals you want to set.

Yet for most leaders, the stats show that making resolutions and setting goals is a massive waste of time.

Why?

Well, because for 92% of people, New Year’s resolutions fail.

With statistics like that, what do you do—give up?

Actually, no. There’s a better way to set goals that will result in success. But most people don’t take that route.

First, let’s cover three quick reasons goal setting and resolutions are a massive waste of time.

Then, we’ll look at the one key characteristic you find among the 8% of people who hit their goals.

For too many people, “New Year, New Me” becomes “New Year, Same Me” – unless you figure out how to avoid that.

For too many people, "New Year, New Me" becomes "New Year, Same Me." Click To Tweet

Trap One: Good Intentions

Your goals die on a piece of paper because nothing happens beyond writing them down.

You’ve heard it said more than a few times: If you have a goal, write it down.

That’s actually great advice.

The problem, of course, is that for the vast majority of people, that’s where their New Year’s Resolutions stop.

Their goals die on a piece of paper because nothing happens beyond writing them down.

As a result, all most people end up with is an intention.

Your goals die on a piece of paper because nothing happens beyond writing them down. Click To Tweet

Hoping to see your church grow without a plan to help your church grow is just that—a hope.

Intending to lose weight without a plan and process to lose weight is simply an intention.

So here’s the challenge. What do you hope will happen next year?

Writing it down is the first step, not the last step. And simply announcing it to people in the hopes that announcing it will help you stay accountable isn’t enough either.

Next year will be exactly like this year unless you change more than your intention.

Next year will be exactly like this year unless you change more than your intention. Click To Tweet

Trap 2: Momentum That Creates False Success

Momentum masks underlying problems, creating a false sense of success. This means that when the momentum ends (as it inevitably will), you have a much bigger mess to clean up than if you worked on the things that produce long-term growth all along.

I’ve set goals as a leader every year for decades.

In the early years, an interesting pattern developed that I didn’t understand at the time. I would miss most of my personal goals (like losing weight or saving X amount of money) but hit most of my organizational goals (like growing church attendance or reaching new people).

Looking back on it, I realize I only hit my organizational goals because we had a ton of momentum.

While that feels good, it can create false success.

While the church growth and life change were real, it came at a significant personal cost because I wasn’t nearly disciplined enough to carve out some margin in my life and schedule to do what mattered most.

Eventually, the inability to run my personal life well led to burnout.

The lesson here is simple. When you have momentum, setting a goal of 20% growth, for example, isn’t a goal nearly as much as it is a reasonable prediction.

The point? Outcome-driven goals feel motivating, but process-driven goals produce far better results in the long run.

When you have momentum, setting a goal of 20% growth, for example, isn't a goal nearly as much as it is a reasonable prediction. Outcome-driven goals feel motivating, but process-driven goals produce better results in the long run. Click To Tweet

Financially, saving $500 a month is a better goal than hoping to see your investments grow by 15%, which they might do by themselves in a bull market.

Shooting for 15% growth in your church attendance might happen ‘automatically’ if you have momentum. Overhauling and optimizing your guest assimilation strategy might be a wiser goal, though, as it can boost that growth rate even more.

And even if it doesn’t, you’re preparing your church for much better stewardship of the people who are coming than you would if you left things as they are.

Momentum masks underlying problems. It can create a false sense of success. This means that when the momentum ends (as it inevitably will), you have a much bigger mess to clean up than if you worked on the things that produce long-term health all along.

Momentum masks underlying problems, creating a false sense of success. This means that when the momentum ends (as it inevitably will), you have a much bigger mess to clean up than if you worked on the things that produce long-term health… Click To Tweet

Trap Three: Lack of Momentum That Creates a False Sense of Failure

In the same way momentum can create a false sense of success, the lack of momentum you’re currently facing can prematurely create a sense of failure—that any attempt at a fresh goal is useless. And that’s a lie.

So what happens if you don’t have momentum?

It’s far too easy to avoid setting goals or roll your eyes at all the achievers who do.

That, too, is a mistake.

In the same way momentum can create a false sense of success, the lack of momentum you’re currently facing can prematurely create a sense of failure—that any attempt at a fresh goal is useless. And that’s a lie.

If this was a negative year for you where you lost ground personally or organizationally, setting clear process-driven goals is one of the best things you can do.

Rather than simply stating, “Grow by 10% next year” or “Lose 10 lbs” as your goal, think through what you might need to do to change things.

“Overhaul the new guest follow-up system” holds much more promise than “magically grow” does.

“Track my daily calories, eat 150 grams of protein, and cap my max calories at 2000/day” is far more likely to lead to losing 10 lbs than simply stating a wish that you hope to lose 10 lbs.

See the difference?

A bad year this year doesn’t mean you have to go through another one next year. And when you combine hope with a strategy, the likelihood of success increases dramatically.

A bad year this year doesn't mean you have to go through another one next year. And when you combine hope with a strategy, the likelihood of success increases dramatically. Click To Tweet

The Remedy: A Strategy

The difference between goals that get realized and goals that don’t is the presence or absence of a strategy.

Often, the difference between goals that get realized and goals that don’t is the presence or absence of a strategy.

Hope is not a strategy, but a plan is.

Post-burnout, I was determined to make a change and realize both my personal and organizational goals.

While I still miss a few goals from time to time, the difference between the goals you hit and those you miss is almost always strategy, not intention.

So, as you set your goals for next year, the big question to ask is, “What’s your strategy?”

Here’s what’s true: What you do every day matters more than what you say on New Year’s Day.

A simple correction is to spend far more time working on your strategy for implementing the goal than you do coming up with the goal.

Do that consistently, and you’ll be part of the 8% who realize their New Year’s Resolutions, not the 92% who don’t.

When it comes to goals and resolutions, what you do every day matters more than what you say on New Year's Day. Click To Tweet