We are almost two weeks into the new year. (Already?!)

And so I have to ask… how are your resolutions treating you?

If you are like most people, you’ve probably ditched them already – or will very soon.

Did you know January 17 is National Ditch Your New Year’s Resolutions Day? (Yes, apparently there is an official day for throwing your integrity out the window.)

I hope that makes you as sad as it makes me.

What the hell has happened to our society? How can this act be so celebrated that it has its own day of the year? Why are we devaluing our integrity in this way?

I want to let you in on a little secret:

There is a serious cost that comes with not keeping your resolutions.

As I shared last week, the definition of a resolution is “a firm decision to do or not do something.”

A resolution is a promise you make to yourself. A resolution is your word. A resolution is your integrity in this world.

Breaking your resolutions is breaking your word – and there is a cost associated with that.

What if someone you worked with made a firm decision to do something and committed that to you – only to completely ignore it and change course a few days later?

Would you laugh it off or (more likely) would you be pretty pissed off?

You should have the same level of anger with yourself when you break your word.

The cost of not keeping your word is people start dismissing you and what you say. You have no credibility and people don’t take you seriously.

When you don’t believe in yourself and lose faith in your own integrity, the people around you will follow suit.

Why should anyone else believe what you say if you can’t keep your word to the most important person in your life? (That’s you by the way.)

Do you value your own integrity?

I sure hope so.

What is the cost of not keeping your word and not having integrity? That loss of belief – whether it is the belief you have in yourself or the belief others have in you – is worth something.

Clearly, if you break your word to yourself, there is a payoff you are receiving for staying the same which carries more value than making a change.

Do you know where you are getting the payoff?

What benefit do you get from not making that change?

And don’t you dare tell me there isn’t anything. I call bs on that.

If there is a cost there is always a payoff. You not knowing what it is doesn’t make it any less real.

If you dig deep enough, you will figure out what it is. So…start digging!

How? Ask yourself lots and lots of questions. Keep asking “Why” until you get to the root of the payoff. A good coach can help you do this if you have trouble doing it yourself. Until you know what the root issue is, you can’t change it.

Here is the good news: the year is still new. Don’t write yourself (or your integrity) off as a lost cause.

If you already started going back to your old ways and giving up on a resolution you made…you still have time to make a change. Reenergize the commitment you made to yourself and get into alignment with your integrity. Are you committed to your integrity and your word? Share your resolution (and possibly your new found resolve) in the comments so we can help you stay accountable to yourself.

Until then… stay passionate!