As we plunge into 2017, one of the most frequently asked questions we see is, “How can I finally stick to my New Year’s resolutions?”

It’s a good question, and there is a lot of advice out there online. Some of it is really great, and some of it is, well, not so great. As our expertise centers around the Color Code Personality System, I’d like to add my two cents on how to help with resolutions from our perspective.

Our perspective is always “MOTIVE.” Motive is all about why we do the things we do, and it definitely ties into how we pursue our resolutions.

Too often during this time of the year, we sit back and we think, “This year I’m going to lose weight, or save more, or be more patient with my children,” etc.

Take a moment and think about the way that we create resolutions. The process usually entails us deciding that we are going to do less of one kind of behavior and do more of another. For example, we are going to eat less pizza and run more on the treadmill. And we know that if that happens, we will lose more weight.

The reality of our past experiences, however, tell us that the word “if” in that last statement decides everything. Of course, the statement itself is absolutely true. “Will we execute?” is the real question.

In order to execute more effectively, I submit that we need to focus on more than just the behavioral changes that need to occur in order for us to achieve our goals. We need to dig a little deeper into our motives. We need to ask ourselves why we react to certain things the way we do and not just know that we need to behave differently.

An example that I like to use when teaching our Trainer Certification Course is about a person wanting to overcome the limitation of being impatient. The process of becoming patient doesn’t just mean that we stay quiet longer while we allow the same frustration to boil up inside of us instead of spewing out onto others. No, to truly create that kind of change you must first explore why you are impatient.

Maybe you don’t like having to deal with other people and you need to become more sociable. Maybe you don’t care about others in general as long as it doesn’t affect you. In that case, you might need to work on being more empathetic and compassionate. There can be so many reasons why a person displays the limitation of being impatient or why a person binges on food, or spends money frivolously, or doesn’t take time for themselves. And the list goes on.

My advice in a nutshell is to dig deeper! Look not only at the changes you want to make, but the reasons you want to make them and why the changes have been difficult for you in the past.

If you simply try swapping “Behavior A” for “Behavior B,” that strategy will likely last as long as your will power allows it to. Ultimately, we tend to go back to our old ways of doing things if this is our approach.

This year, try to understand what is making you tick from the inside first then work your way outward. Be more in tune with your motives first, and the behavior change will seem a lot easier.

Here’s to you in 2017!

Jeremy Daniel