Why Most Resolutions Fail (and How to Succeed)

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She sits at a small wooden desk, the soft glow of a lamp illuminating a pen and a blank notebook. She’s about to break a lifelong pattern: focusing only on her flaws. She writes a single sentence, “I’m grateful for a chance to speak my truth,” and discovers that gratitude unravels years of insecurity. Each word reclaims a bit more strength, forging a new path for the person she is yet to become. The lamp flickers overhead as she sets down the pen, realizing she’s taken a step that will redefine her future. The world will soon know her as Oprah Winfrey.

Oprah often mentions how beginning this small habit of gratitude journaling set her on her current path. This reflection-based practice exemplifies the power of small, consistent habits.

Every January, we commit to ambitious resolutions—exercise more, read more. Yet by February, often we’re back to old patterns. Why? Because while goals set the destination, habits are the engine that gets us there. Let’s explore how paying attention to your habits can make 2025 the year you don’t just set goals—you achieve them!

🤝 Why Leadership and Habits Go Hand in Hand?

Leadership is often seen as a combination of vision, charisma, and strategic thinking, but one of the most overlooked aspects of leadership is the set of daily behaviors that determine your effectiveness. Our behaviors, no matter how small, compound over time and shape our identity and who we are as leaders. This includes not only typical habits (morning routine, journaling, etc.) but also habits of mind—how we respond to conflict, uncertainty, and fear. These habits shape how we exercise leadership on a daily basis.

❓ What is the power of habit?

According to the research, habits make up 43% of our daily behavior. Nearly half of what we do is automated. Often, we're unaware whether these habits serve us well or not. When you start paying attention to your habits, you face an important choice in your personal development: which habits support your growth/goals and should be kept, and which ones need to be changed or eliminated? Imagine the possibilities if you could align 40% of your automated behavior with your goals and the person you want to become. That's tremendous power!

When a behavior becomes a habit, it requires far less mental energy to maintain, making it easier to follow through consistently. You become what you do regularly. Every habit is a reflection of your identity. We will talk more about that next week.

‼️ Motivation is Overrated!

Don't rely on motivation alone - it comes and goes with your mood and external factors. Instead, build discipline & habits. Discipline helps you stick to your plans even when you don't feel like it. It turns your actions into habits and keeps you going forward no matter what. In this case, discipline is about devotion to your own personal growth.

🤔 How to Build a New Habit

1️⃣ Connect to your goals: You will change only if you know why. Setting a worthy goal makes adjusting habits to achieve it more likely. If you haven't set your 2025 goals, read THIS. Choose one goal and one habit you need to change, or replace to make progress toward that goal. If you're replacing a habit, decide which new one you want to practice.

This transforms your habits (repeated behaviors without clear goals) into practices (purposeful behaviors aligned with specific goals). Example: Goal - become a reader, read one book a month; Habit - read every day.

2️⃣ Start small: Shrink the habit down to its simplest version. This will make it easier to start and maintain the habit. Reading a book VS starting with just 10 minutes of reading daily, and building up from there.

3️⃣ Link to existing habit: Connecting your new habit to an existing one will increase your chances of success. Your existing habit becomes a trigger for the new habit. For example, read when you make your morning coffee, or read right after brushing your teeth at night. Be specific about when, where, and how you'll do it. Put it on your calendar and to-do list. Set reminders if necessary.

4️⃣ Set up your space: Set up your environment to support your new habit. Place your book on your pillow each morning. Keep your reading light and glasses nearby. Make it easy to start reading. Make it as easy as possible to engage your new habit.

5️⃣ Celebrate small wins: Acknowledge & reward yourself for sticking to your new habit. This could be as simple as checking off your daily reading in a habit tracker app or treating yourself to something special after completing a book. Celebrating reinforces the positive behavior and makes you more likely to continue.

6️⃣ Reflect: Daily reflection enables you to notice patterns, habits you were not aware of, and helps you track the progress of your new habits. I cannot stress enough the power of daily reflection as a cornerstone habit!

HERE you can find an example of a cornerstone habit I embraced when I was struggling.

🧐 Democratic Leadership Insight

Democratic Leadership is about empowering others to become their best selves. By modeling positive behaviors, supporting personal growth, and creating environments where good habits flourish, leaders can cultivate a high-performing, resilient teams. Leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about enabling everyone's talents. Here you can find 7 Habits of Democratic Leaders

Leadership is about discipline & showing up daily in service of your team’s success, modeling the behaviors you want to see, and creating an environment where everyone can thrive. 2025 is a blank canvas, and your habits are the brushstrokes. As a human, you are already designed to be the ultimate adaptation machine. You just need to lean into that capacity to grow.

✊ Be a Change-maker!

You can make a difference today by forwarding insights about leadership and habits to a friend or colleague who could benefit from them. They can subscribe here: https://pulseofchange.org/

💡 One of the habits I developed is reading unbiased news at lunchtime to stay informed in polarizing times. I read the 1440 newsletter, so you might like it too 👇

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