Rededications, not Resolutions

On January 2^nd, I saw a sign outside a church that said “2022: Rededications, not Resolutions.” I was intrigued, and I spent the first month of the year digesting that phrase. What I’ve come to understand is that a rededication is a strengthening of what I already believe in and who I already am. I quite like who I am, but there’s a lot of progress to be made. A resolution is a promise to change. After the past two years, I’ve had more than enough of drastic change. I’m not interested in making any Gone with the Wind-level resolutions to change forever, nor do I think those are realistic for most people. A rededication, however, is something most of us can accomplish.

It is still early 2022. Now is about the time when people start faltering on their New Year’s Rededications. (I hope you’re the exception!) It is discouraging to see and work with people who believe that no such changes are warranted or even possible.   It seems like the world and all the people around us are calling us to action. One of my favorite sayings comes to mind: “The best time to plant a tree is 50 years ago. The second-best time is now.” The start of a new year is a great time to sit down to plan out who we want to be, and now is a great time to reflect on how we’re doing.

My favorite tool that we use at OKA is the DRiV, and I find it particularly pertinent to New Years’ Rededications. The DRiV is all about identifying our motivations and values; what’s important to us? What keeps us going? What might be getting in our way? The DRiV gives us the tools to answer these questions.

The DRiV

To clarify: taking the DRiV or getting familiar with its content will not magically make you go to the gym three times a week. The DRiV, like most psychological assessment tools, is most useful for turning the unknown into the known. The tool is composed of 28 individual drivers–motivations that are ranked in order by how much they either energize or drain us. The DRiV is fundamentally about what motivates us and what is valuable to us. That makes it the perfect tool for rededication. Why do we make the rededications we did—why are some so easy and others so deeply challenging?  Growth is difficult, so what about this new goal is valuable enough to brave through the intimidating process of change?

The DRiV answers these questions.  Here is a personal example.  A big goal for me in 2022 was to write more fiction for my own personal enjoyment. Obviously, I’d rather write good material than bad material, but just creating a habit of writing was my goal. So, why is writing more a goal of mine? And why have I been struggling with it? My DRiV results offer a clear explanation.

My 2022 Rededication

I love writing. When I’m writing and get in the zone, I am at my most energized and competent. I love using words to set a mood and tell a story.   Writing, for me, feeds a number of my drivers—consistent and focused motives that underpin so many of my behavioral choices. Among my strongest drivers are  Autonomy, Creativity, and Growth.

One of the things I most like about writing is that my stories are spaces that I control entirely—my story,  my characters, my decisions.  My drive for Autonomy—to control my own work and decisions—is really fed when I write.   The Creativity driver is somewhat self-explanatory—I  derive joy and energy from getting to create new things. As much as my writing satisfies my Autonomy, it feeds my Creativity driver just as much. My writing is a space where I get to convey feelings and beliefs in new and unique ways. Growth is another driver of mine which shows in the writing process. Most people cringe when they go back and read old things that they’ve written, but I love it. If I can look back and think my old work stinks, it’s only because I’ve gotten that much better. It’s a space that I can consistently grow and improve in. I’ll never be perfect. I’ll probably never end up being Maya Angelou or Ernest Hemingway. But the everlasting journey to get better is one I enjoy!

Your 2022 Rededication

Rededication means identifying those things in your life that drive you—and trying to protect and even maximize the times when you can do these things or engage these behaviors. The DRiV helps frame our values and motives in an easy vocabulary. Knowing what drives and drains me makes it easier to move toward those things that feed me–and away from those things that repel me.  For 2022, I want to feed my drive for Autonomy, Creativity, and Growth—and writing would be a great way to satisfy all of these motives.

What 2022 rededications have you made? How can the DRiV help give you the vocabulary and mindset to help your motives be satisfied?  If OKA can help increase your self-awareness and to rededicate an important part of yourself, we would love to hear from you. Please visit here to learn more about the DRiV—including OKA’s DRiV certification training. We also regularly have free webinar sessions dealing with the DRiV, so stay tuned for more information!