Surprise! Why New Year’s Resolutions Fizzle

New Year’s resolutions fizzle because people do not entertain the benefit of the benefit.

What is the benefit of the benefit? And why would that be important to us?

Here’s an illustration of what the ‘benefit of the benefit’ is all about. In 2006, a friend of mine, Mike Green, gave a presentation to a convention of Florida teachers. His talk was about bullying in the school system. Mike explained that the main reason the teachers were attending the talk was to understand the causes and effects of bullying—and to stop it.

Then he went on to explain another, deeper reason that the teachers showed up: so they could restore order and discipline to the classroom.

He further went on to talk about a more profound reason they were there—to return to experiencing their love of teaching.

That was it! The benefit of the benefit of the benefit! Benefit #1 wasto stop bullying. Benefit #2 was to restore order so they could teach. And benefit #3 (the mother load) was to experience, once again, their love of educating—why they became teachers in the first place.

Upon learning this about themselves, the crowd went wild. They finally understood a deeper, more meaningful benefit of knowing the information on bullying.

Of course, Mike is excellent at presenting the not-so-obvious.

How can we apply this knowledge?

Well, what’s the most common resolution (at least for me) women make from year to year?  No surprise—to lose those extra 20 pounds.

Let’s examine the benefit of the benefit when it comes to losing those 20 pounds.

The initial reason to lose 20 pounds is to fit into that sexy red number and your husband will turn off the football game. A deeper reason is to feel better, have more energy, get healthy and lower your blood pressure. The more profound reason is to make sure you do everything in your power to see your 5 year old daughter walk down the aisle some day.

Benefit #1 - to wear the sexy red dress. Benefit #2 - to get healthy. And benefit #3 - to be around a long time for your daughter.

Voila! Get the picture of how this works?

New Year’s resolutions fizzle because we don’t take the time or the thought to truly understand the benefit of the benefit for most things we do.

Stop.

Get quiet.

Reflect.

Your benefits of the benefits are waiting.

What benefit of the benefit do you see?