How many of you made a New Year’s Resolution? How many of those New Year Resolutions are still in good shape, and how many have already been broken? I would guess that the majority of “resolutions” that are made on New Year’s Day remain “unresolved” on December 31st! Why? Success or failure of any resolution depends on the process that follows the statement. If the process for fulfilling the resolution is not well planned, then the resolution statement itself is likely to remain unresolved. The word resolution has many definitions and can be used in many ways, but in the context of making a New Year’s Resolution the word is only a statement that implies intent. “I will lose 40 pounds” is a statement that implies my intent to lose the weight, but it does not say HOW I am going to go about losing the weight. Losing weight is a process, therefore, that must follow a determined plan if I am to achieve success. Just because I say I am going to do something does not guarantee that I will succeed. No, to be sure, losing weight is not an easy task, but it is certainly an achievable and realistic goal IF I follow my resolution with a plan of action. This is where most of our “resolutions” hit their first snag. In the heat of the moment we say things like: “I will save some money this year,” or “I will lose X amount of weight,” or “I will be happier,” or, my personal favorite, “I will be more content with what I already have.” Unfortunately, planning is a critical next step that is very often forgotten or avoided all together, and one thing leads to another and before you know it, December 31st is upon you  and it becomes time to make NEW resolutions.

What if this year your resolution was to plan everything? What if each day was one in which you looked at your plan and worked to accomplish a task on that plan which fed your overall goal(s) for this year?  I dare say that more of your resolutions would be fulfilled by the end of the year. And what if next year your new plan built upon the successes of this year, and so on? Five year plans are not a figment of imagination. They are recommended for professionals, and there are countless books and articles published each and every year that cover the topic of planning. You have an advantage, though, in that you have a “recovery plan template” that you can use to begin to draft your own plan. My good friend Bob Blanton often points out the fact that “we are ALL recovering from something.” He is right. Maybe your own recovery plan could begin to address the resolutions you made last year that went unresolved. Mine certainly will! A definition of the word resolution that I often think about is the one that describes the process of clarity. It is amazing to go stand in front of a wall full of televisions at an electronics store and observe the differences in picture sharpness. New LED televisions have a 1080dpi, 240hrz resolution (whatever that means) while older model LCD screens often have a 720dpi, 120hrz resolution (again, whatever that means) and the difference is astounding, especially when watching sports! The images on the older models are blurry, while the same images on the newer models are clear and crisp. Think of this analogy when you are crafting your NEW resolute plan! Whatever has gone unresolved in the past, PLAN for its resolution this year by setting some achievable, realistic, and measurable goals. Continually assess your progress and adjust your plan accordingly. Do not make the same, tired, old and blurry resolution statements. Rather, focus on the plan that must follow your resolution statement and set goals that are clear and crisp. In this way, not only will you achieve some personal victories, you will also model this process for the clients that you serve. Let THAT be one of the very first tasks!

Happy New Year, and Bless you for your tremendous talent and efforts last year!


Stephen P. Carr II, MA,  MFT
Program Director
Mississippi Case Management Consortium
www.mc-mc.org