I love the idea of a do-over — the chance to right a wrong, to take another swing at a project that didn’t go quite according to plan, to start again. Apparently, so do the approximately 60% of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions each January.
I must confess that although I love a do-over, I’m not a huge fan of New Year’s resolutions. That’s partially because of how few people actually accomplish them: an abysmal 8%. There’s plenty of research out there explaining why our annual do-over attempts aren’t successful, but I suspect it boils down to this: life is complicated, and habits are tough to change. We humans — because we’re, well, human — can make a royal mess of things, regardless of our good intentions and assertions that this time will be different.
Don’t get me wrong: I believe deeply in the power of the human spirit (more on that in a bit). But listen: our human spirit is unlikely to feel giddy over swapping a chocolate bar for a head of broccoli just because it’s January 1.
Here’s a bigger reason I have trouble getting behind New Year’s resolutions: if we have a goal in mind, why in the world would we wait until the calendar flips to get started? For instance, I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise that most resolutions have something to do with health. Among the top 10 resolutions for 2019 were exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight, reduce stress and get more sleep. Those are clearly meaningful goals, so rather than planning to start them at the beginning of the year, doesn’t it make more sense to just start immediately?
The Secret to Creating Meaningful Change
Push pause on that thought if you would, and let’s swing back to that idea of the power of the human spirit. Despite my near-cynicism about New Year’s resolutions, I do believe change is possible. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be so on-board with do-overs. But the truth is that it’s nearly impossible to create meaningful change in isolation. If you’ve ever been the only one in your house on a diet, you know exactly what I’m talking about. We need people to cheer us on and hold us accountable. We may need to reallocate our resources to support our new habits. Yes, a good bit of resolution success is tied to our internal mindset. We do have to decide what change we’re making, and then decide again, moment after moment after moment, to make that change. But none of that happens in a vacuum, so we’re most likely to succeed if we have the backing of our people.
Now, all of that is about personal goals — the changes we want to make for our own good. But what about do-overs that benefit the people around us? Our communities? People on the other side of the planet? Sometimes, those goals work the same way; we decide how we’d like to positively impact the world, and then we assemble and leverage various resources to make it happen.
But have you ever considered the idea of reverse-engineering your resolutions?
What if, instead of choosing a problem to solve and then finding people and other resources to solve it, we were to approach it from the other direction? What if we were to take account of our vast personal and corporate resources and then match those to a problem that exists? What if in addition to (or instead of) the typical, me-centered New Year’s resolutions, we all decided to set community-centered resolutions? Can you just imagine the change that could happen?
Many of you in the fashion industry can imagine that change because of your partnership with Soles4Souls. You’ve taken stock of what you have — surplus clothing and shoes, for example — and leveraged those resources for the good of others all over the world and for the planet. More specifically, in addition to meeting families’ basic needs, you’ve helped us keep more than 51 million pounds of textiles out of landfills. That’s huge.
It’s Never Too Late for a Do-Over
Earlier, I mentioned that resolutions bug me because they’re focused on a future start-date. While I’m definitely more inspired by the idea of starting now, I should also say that it’s never too late for a do-over.
Relevant to the theme of this month’s issue of Fashion Mannuscript, as you continue to innovate inside the industry, explore how those changes can benefit not just your brand, but also the world.
For example, could you use technology to automate some systems and processes which would save you money and allow you the freedom to be more generous with your surplus? Could you develop a new way to manage purchasing and inventory so you can better track how your products are being used?
Technology allows us to innovate fast, and the speed of change is only accelerating. Together, we can harness that power and start using it, not just for our own gain, but for the benefit of people in need, here and around the world.
Now that’s a resolution I can get behind.
Buddy Teaster
Soles4Souls
solesfsouls.com
