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It's Only Common Sense: Not Your Typical New Year’s Resolutions

I like to make resolutions. In fact, I am serious about making and trying to keep them. I find that resolutions can be goals that you promise yourself you will make and then, to be true to yourself, you keep those promises.

New Year’s resolutions have always been kind of a standing joke with many people. This is especially true when it comes to diets, right? There is the obvious fact that gym memberships and attendance go up in January and then steadily declines every month after that as people’s enthusiasm and passion for their resolutions start to wane about a week after they make them.

People say that in the 1970s the number one resolution was to quit smoking. Remember those days? Everybody was trying to quit smoking. It usually made business in January very difficult as we dealt with a bunch of very irritable people ready to bite our heads off in a New York minute.

But with all that has gone on in the world for the past two years, I thought it would be good to make a list of resolutions—ones that will not only make me a better person but perhaps the world around me a better place as well.

Here is my list of New Year’s resolutions for 2022:

1. I will be more open minded. I will be ready to accept new ideas and think about them rather than dismissing them the moment I hear them. I will be more open to new things especially when it comes to things I don’t think I like. Instead of just avoiding them like I do now, I will try to find the value in them and learn to appreciate them.
2. I will look for new ways of doing things. I will drive myself out of the box of conventional wisdom, instead looking for new and innovative ways to make things better.
3. I will be more disciplined with my time. I will make every minute count and be careful not to waste time on mindless endeavors, like watching funny YouTube videos. (Now those are really addictive.)
4. I will spend more time trying to help other people in as many ways as possible. I will try to help them find their own true calling, helping them to make their lives better. I will spend more time with them to find out what they are really good at, what they really want to do, and then helping them do it.
5. I will read more books, even more than I do now, making sure that I stay attuned to all that is going on in the world, especially when it comes to strategy, sales, and marketing.
6. I will call old friends. Frankly, when you have been in business as long as I have, you start to lose them. So, I will make sure I stay in touch, especially with those I have not talked to in years. I personally lost five good friends this past year and as we age out, there will be more to come.
7. I will always look to learn new things. I will explore with my mind, figure out how to do things and how to master them, which I believe is the key to staying young and creative.
8. And yes, I will exercise more, at least more than I do now. I know this one is an old cliché, but you still have to try, right? Of course, it goes right along with eating better and healthier, and drinking plenty of water too, although if I drink anymore water, I’ll have to move my office to the bathroom.
9. I will stick to my guns when I am right and let go when I am not sure. I will try to figure out another way of looking at things, especially from another person’s point of view.
10. I will find new ways to do old things. I will find better ways to do things I have done for years with the goal of finding a new and innovative way to teach people how to make sales calls when people don’t answer their phones, how to sell when they can’t visit customers, how to sell value rather than price, and how to deliver the best customer service in the industry.
11. I will look for ways to contribute to the world around me, especially in my own town and state as well as in my industry. I will try to be less self-centered and more focused on others.
12. I’ll try to have more fun. I’m pretty good at that, but I’m the kind of guy who thinks that developing a company’s strategy is fun. I’ll also try to loosen up and do things that most people think are fun, like maybe taking my wife dancing… if we ever get rid of these masks.
13. And finally, I will try to view these resolutions as promises to myself, promises that I must keep.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.