One thing I learned from the insurance industry, a lesson that was reinforced in business school, was the importance of having a plan, then focusing on the plan, not the over-arching goal.

My regional sales manager at State Farm used to say, “A goal without a plan is a pipedream.”

Yes, she was brutal, but she was right.

In every insurance position I worked, we were given production goals. The trick to hitting those goals was to formulate a plan based on statistical probabilities.

“If only 7% of the people I call answer the phone, and if I’m only able to sell half of them, and I am required to sell 35 policies this month, then that means that I will need to place 1,000 phone calls this month in order to hit my sales goal.”

So, instead of looking at the leader board and seeing how many sales I’ve made, or how many I haven’t, the key to success was to track my daily activity to ensure that I was on my way to making those 1,000 calls. More often than not, if I followed the plan, success followed.

As I talk to people about their New Year’s resolutions, I am hearing the same things. “I want to save more money.”

“I want to lose _____ pounds.”

“I want to spend more time with my kids.”

The key to success in these resolutions is to build a plan to meet these goals, then make the plan your resolution.

So, instead of saying “I want to save more money,” say, “My New Year’s resolution is to put _______ dollars into my savings account every month.”

Instead of “I want to lose 50 pounds,” come up with a diet/exercise regiment that will get you there, then make that your resolution. “My New Year’s resolution is to eliminate processed sugars, don’t drink my calories, and to walk one mile per day.”

If your resolution is to spend more time with your kids, put a numeric value on that. “My resolution is to spend 30 minutes with my kids daily.”

If you frame your resolutions in quantifiable actions like this, broken down to a level where you can measure and achieve progress daily, you’ll have more success in following and realizing your resolutions.

As for me, my resolutions are as follows.

1. Read through the Bible (Genesis to Revelation)
2. Walk one mile per day.
3. Consume 1,500 calories or less every day.
4. Invest $300 per month.
5. Obtain my Class B drivers’ license by June.

I believe these resolutions will help me achieve my goals of growing Spiritually, becoming healthier physically, and being in a better financial situation by the end of 2026.

So, what are some of your resolutions?