Want to Start Building Momentum for 2015? Start Your Resolutions Now. Don't wait to start making positive changes in your personal and professional lives.
By John Brubaker Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Each year, more than 100 million people in the U.S. make New Year's resolutions right before midnight on the eve of the new year. And each year, more than 88 million people quit before the finish line. Sixty percent of these people give up within the first 30 days and 88 percent by the end of the second month. You can't win the race if you never make it across the finish line.
I look at resolutions a little differently and encourage you to do the same. Rather than start on Jan.1, why don't you start in December? Then some of your "New Year's resolutions" would already be achieved by the new year.
Related: 6 Tricks to Make Your New Year's Resolutions Stick
If you started a month earlier, you'd have a massive head start on 2015 and on your competition. In sports it's called playing with a lead and what happens when you're playing with a lead is you have greater confidence and you develop momentum. Every year on Dec. 1, I have my coaching clients go through a process we call the 31-day challenge. We figure out their New Year's resolutions before Dec. 1 and begin working towards them on Dec. 1 for 31 days.
From Thanksgiving through Christmas right up to New Year's people tend to take their eye off the prize and their foot off the accelerator. Unless you work in retail, this window of time tends to become a black hole for a lot of businesses. As a result, instead of building momentum you're playing from behind once 2015 rolls around.
If you started your resolutions now, how different would the start of the first quarter of 2015 look for you and your business? Some of your goals would already be reached and completed before Jan. 1.
Related: 7 Must-Dos Before the End of the Year
Personally, what if you lost weight between Dec. 1 and Jan. 1 instead of gained weight? Professionally, what if you put new business on the books for 2015 before 2015? How much more motivated would you be at the start of the first quarter?
Often, success is about creating momentum, and if there's one thing I've learned it's that you can't put a price tag on momentum.
There's an old saying my coaching mentor always referenced: "Nothing succeeds like success." I would also add that nothing motivates quite like success either.
Can you start the 31-day challenge now? Absolutely. Can you see it through? Certainly. Can you finish strong on Jan. 1? Of course you can. The real question is will you do it?
Two things to know about the 31-day challenge: It will be difficult. It will be worth it.
If you want to join me and my clients in the 31-day challenge, post your goal in the comments section below and let's start working toward it for the next month. If you'd like to receive a free copy of my ebook, The Goal Getting Guide, click here.
Related: 6 Strategies for Transforming Your Life and Business Now
