Here we are, it’s another new year!
Don’t worry, this isn’t a “new year, new me” post. However, January does offer the idea of a clean slate and hope and excitement of the possibilities that lay in front of us, often in the form of new year goals.
Unfortunately, as we get into what we set out to accomplish, we often meet resistance pretty quickly.
Keeping the 2025 team goals and vision at the forefront starts to slip as the tasks and changes start rolling in...
The 1-1’s you promised yourself you’d have with all your direct reports start to get rescheduled again and again (until they’re canceled)...
You’re no longer taking that mid-afternoon walking break...
And you feel your once-fresh patience and curiosity give way to urgency and stress…
But here’s the thing- experiencing resistance is a sign that you’re starting to make the changes you set out to achieve. It’s a GOOD thing. So, don’t give in to it! To help you stay strong, here are some tips to build your resilience:
#1 Set your “why” and keep it in sight
If you’re a go-getter, it can be easy to “just get to work.” This might pay off initially as you hit those quick wins, however, as mentioned above, the resistance sets in, and “just pushing through” gets harder.
I recently met with an executive team to facilitate a discussion on how they were going to roll out their new team values and norms to the greater population within their organization. Before we jumped into the conversation, I felt compelled to go around the table and have each executive explain why they thought having team values and norms was important. They had a day chock-full of strategic planning, and I didn’t want what they were about to discuss to be just another thing to check off the agenda.
At first, I didn’t want to ask them to do this; it seemed elementary and potentially condescending. However, I listened to my intuition, made a joke about sounding like a school teacher asking a question with an obvious answer, and asked the question anyway.
What they each shared shifted the tone in the room completely. It went from “Let’s get this knocked out” to “This conversation is important to create an environment where our people stand out among our larger organization, and let’s approach it with this exciting spirit in mind.” The conversation that ensued was dynamic, energetic, and powerful, rather than how some of these conversations can feel- slow, oppressive, and boring.
This same exercise can be utilized in what you’re setting out to achieve as a leader and/or within your team in 2025. Why are you doing what you’re doing? What could the potential outcomes be? Why is that important/good/exciting?
I challenge you to write out your “why,” put it somewhere that’s easily accessible, and make a routine of coming back to it at least once a month. You can even add to it or make adjustments as things change!
You will be surprised at how much this can enhance your mood (and, in turn, your resilience) as you face resistance.
#2 Celebrate the wins (which means you must track progress)
Tracking the progression toward the vision you set for yourself or your team is often overlooked, but it’s where we can get some pretty valuable information. Tracking progress helps us to see clearly what’s working and what’s not, and what you might want to do about it rather than discovering it four months into doing work that isn’t working!
Most importantly, tracking the progress toward your goals helps you see all the wins you are making along the way. Do not, I repeat, do NOT allow those wins to pass you by. Don’t minimize them by thinking it’s just how things “should” be. No, you and your team are putting effort into those results, and it’s important to celebrate that effort.
Whether you have a formal tracking process when you create reports and review and analyze data, or you do a more generalized check-in on your goals, it’s important that you check in to see the wins you’re making. By dialing into where you’ve moved the needle, you create confidence and a “knowing” that you can do this. And so, you continue that effort, even when you feel the resistance.
#3 Keep the momentum (even if it’s slow). And this doesn’t mean you don’t rest (see number 4!)
Eat the elephant…One. Bite. At. A. time.
When I hike with my husband, I often find myself wondering where in the world he went. I think “he was just behind me!”
What I’ve discovered is that when he needs a break, he’ll stop for a bit to catch his breath. On the other hand, when I get tired, I don’t dare stop! I slow down, but if I stop, I find it more difficult to start again. Then thoughts of
“Do you really want to keep going?”
“Are you sure you can do this?” or
“Wouldn’t it just be easier to go back now?”
start to creep their way into my head. Instead, I slow my speed and focus all my energy on putting one foot in front of the other. This focus eliminates any space in my mind for the doubts to creep in or the time to entertain those doubts.
It can be the same way as we slog our way through and around the obstacles that stand in our way as we move toward our goal. Set your focus on the next step. In those dark and difficult moments, just look at what’s next. You can take that small step forward.
#4 Find time to rest and reflect
This might sound contradictory to the point above, but it’s not. Pausing is not the same as quitting. There are times where we need to just focus on taking the next step and there are times when we need to take a beat.
To refer to the image of my husband and I hiking, he does take a pause. This is something that his body needs for him to keep moving forward.
When our reserves are so low that we’re soon going to be running on empty and possibly crash, it’s not going to benefit us to continue. Knowing this takes having self-awareness of our resilience levels. When we can identify that our tank is beginning to get low, we can take the time to pause and refill the tank so we can begin moving again with sustainability.
Pausing also provides the opportunity to reflect, re-aim if needed, and celebrate (back to point #2).
#5 Don’t be so attached to outcomes
If there’s one thing that’s sure in life, it’s that things are going to shift and change. Accepting this is going to help us from feeling resistance all the time and instead move into a flow state.
Not being attached to outcomes doesn’t mean you don’t still have a vision or goal, but it means that what you set your vision or goal to be, you hold it openly because you know that there are things that could happen that could create a different, and potentially better, outcome.
If we white-knuckle the original vision or goal, not only is a better outcome hard for us to see, but we can get stuck trying to make something that might no longer be possible happen.
This one is the hardest for me and honestly takes a little humility to get to. It’s hard because I can’t always imagine a better outcome than the one I originally was set on (because, of course, I always know what’s best! 😉).
The funny thing is, ultimately, it’s not the outcome or circumstances that make things “good” or “bad” anyway. It’s how we choose to look at it. Once I remind myself of this, the ability to deal with changes and be resilient through them increases exponentially. I can let go, seek new possibilities, and redirect to a different outcome. And not-so-magically, the resistance disappears as I chart a different way forward.
So, here’s to you and your team’s goals for 2025! Expect to encounter resistance, meet it with resilience, and know that it’s a sign you’re working toward something great.
If you notice your team's resilience levels are low and experiencing a lot of resistance as you work toward your goals, contact us and we will help boost your team's resilience so you can reach those 2025 goals!
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