What college leadership teaches us about new year’s resolutions
Why resolutions fail and how to combat the cybernetic nature of our minds
As I study higher education administration, I’m constantly reminded about how colleges are not like businesses. You typically can’t just declare something from the top down and expect it to happen.
Why not?
Because colleges are cybernetic institutions.
Cybernetic systems, as described by Robert Birnbaum, are self-correcting. This means that any big change is rejected by the system so as not to disrupt the equilibrium - the status quo.
Cybernetic systems are incredibly stable and self-sufficient. This is why higher education has operated so seamlessly for centuries.
But cybernetic systems are also extremely resistant to change. This is why presidents tend not to last long and why efforts to increase access and equity are difficult to implement.
As I was reflecting on new year’s resolutions, I read yet another article about why most resolutions fail before the end of January. And then it hit me.
WE ARE CYBERNETIC SYSTEMS.
Our brains. Our bodies. Our mental scripts.
The reason we struggle with following through on our resolutions is that when we attempt to implement a drastic change, and our mind rejects it because it’s too much of a disruption to what has already been working. Even if what we’ve been doing all along isn’t what we want our life to look like, our brain is happy to go along the path of least resistance.
So what do you do when you don’t want to continue in certain patterns?
1. Identify your WHY
Why are you setting this resolution? Knowing why you’re pursuing a certain goal will help you address underlying barriers that might tempt you to give up. It’ll be harder work to address the obstacles, but you’ll be more likely to succeed if you have a clear and personally meaningful why for your goal.
Do you want to exercise more because everyone else is setting that goal? Or is it because you want to have more energy to run around with your kids?
Do you want to drink less soda to be healthier? To lose weight? To reduce sugar cravings? To address an underlying emotional need that you’ve been suppressing with sugar?
Whatever it is, write down your why and put it somewhere you like every day, like your bathroom mirror or your car visor. Then when you feel tempted to give up on your goal, look at your why and use that as motivation to keep going.
2. Start small
Karl Weick wrote an influential article about the power of small wins and how they help us achieve our goals. We need to break down the overwhelming, lofty goal into manageable pieces so that we’re not frozen by overwhelm.
Want to lose weight? Thinking about the difference between the number on the scale and your goal weight might cause you to throw up your hands in resignation. Instead, consider adding in a 5-minute walk every day, an extra veggie with lunch, or cutting out a few ounces of coffee.
These wins are not linear and do not have to build on one another. But once you’ve walked 5 minutes a day for a week, you’ll be proud of what you accomplished and find internal motivation to keep going for another goal!
3. Focus your attention
Your attention is your most valuable resource, and if you want to realize your goal, then you need to focus on it.
Charles Duhigg wrote about keystone habits, or those habits that can create a snowball effect of changing other habits and eventually transforming your life. Instead of focusing on everything that you wish were different, focus on ONE key goal and pursue that.
Want to read more throughout the year? Set up your environment and your schedule to be conducive to the goal. Keep your current book in plain sight (and only one book so you’re not overwhelmed by your to-be-read pile). Have a designated chair. Consider scheduling a reading appointment with yourself and keep it.
Periodically revisit your goal and see how well your strategy is helping you achieve it. Then adjust one small thing and see how that helps over the next month.
4. Rewrite your resolutions with clarity
Instead of saying “lose weight,” be specific! The goal here is clarity since we can’t achieve a goal if it’s not well defined. You might try the SMART goal-setting technique.
Or, join me in applying Marcus Buckingham’s organizational leadership strategy to leading ourselves. Buckingham lays out four questions to ask as we attempt to solve a problem:
Who do we serve? In this case, what makes you unique as a pursuer of this goal?
What’s our core strength? What do you do really well?
What’s our core score? What will you measure as you strive for your goal?
What steps can we take today? What are the small wins you can start on immediately?
Walk with me as I apply this to one of my resolutions: to study the Bible. This is vague, I know. Let’s transform it into a better goal!
I’ve read through the Bible 4 times already, so I have a pretty good sense of the flow and organization. What I’m looking for now is in-depth study of the whole thing. But that’s too much for one year. So maybe in-depth study of some passages that are important to me and my faith. I’m looking to understand restoration, redemption, promises, and the new covenant as I strive to be more and more like Jesus every single day.
I’m really good at asking questions. I’m good at conducting research to answer those questions. I’m good at noticing details. I’m good at underlining and taking notes. I’m good at lettering (Bible art).
I’ll measure progress by noting how far I get in the Bible. This isn’t a race, so I also want to be conscientious of depth of study too. Since I have a journaling Bible, this is pretty easy to track since I can flip through the pages and see my progress.
My biggest obstacles will be time and energy since I work, attend classes, and study most of the day. Knowing this, I’ll get up 30 minutes earlier to study my Bible while my brain is fresh. I’ll try this for about a month and see how it affects my energy levels throughout the day. If this plan doesn’t work, I’ll try studying my Bible after dinner. Measure and adjust, right?
The next small win is picking an easy (short) book study. I’ll go with Philippians since it’s my favorite. I’ll spend the next week or two studying Philippians (or longer if I need to). I’ll go a heading at a time so I’m not overwhelmed by volume and can really dig deep.
Another small win is telling a friend and asking her to meet monthly to discuss the things we’re learning. She doesn’t have to be studying the same passages but the accountability will help me.
See how that worked? It takes a little time to sort through your goals and clearly define them. Now you try this strategy with your goals!
5. Give yourself grace in the process
You’re not going to achieve your goals perfectly. But instead of letting your cybernetic mind take over by giving up, keep on pushing. Acknowledge the loss for the day and then try again tomorrow.
Your only enemy here is yourself; you don’t have hundreds of constituents ready to vote you out of office for a mistake like college leaders might. So tame your mental script and rewrite it to be full of grace for yourself.
It’s about progress, not perfection.
Slow, small, and steady changes will beat the cybernetic system and help you achieve your goals.
Let me know in the comments what your goals are and how you might approach them differently this year!
