By Paige Gilligan
I was blessed to be able to spend time with family and friends this holiday season. I hope your celebrations were also filled with gratitude and goodness. The third “G” in the 3-Gs is “goals.” Ironically, or not, our next celebration falls right in line with this focus. But are you aware of the history of why we set goals (or resolutions) for the New Year?
History.com tells us that over the centuries, the calendar fell out of sync with the sun. Emperor Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which closely resembles our current Gregorian calendar that we utilize in the United States. Julius Caesar instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honor the month’s namesake: Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future. The origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they would earn good favor in the coming year.
So, will you be honoring new beginnings and making promises to reap benefits in 2022? I will! Those of you who also choose to set goals for the new year may wonder what is the secret to keeping it? Turns out, simply wanting to change is not enough; you need to make it stick. One way to do this is to share your resolution with others. “Set a goal that is challenging, but manageable,” says Dr. Michael Kitchens. “This is a sensitive balance that really can only be made by each person.”
Whatever your New Year goals, give yourself some time to make them a reality. While most people cling to the widespread belief that new habits can be formed in 21 days, research is suggesting we need a longer timetable (66 days on average). Be patient and kind to yourself!
Why not make one resolution that is personal and one that is geared toward your business? For both statements: (1) be specific, (2) set a due date, and (3) monitor and follow-up on your progress. If your manageable business goal relates to water or SGMA (Sustainable Groundwater Management Act), you may decide to consistently follow the local GSA’s (Groundwater Sustainability Agencies) progress on their GSP (Groundwater Sustainability Plan) by attending two water/irrigation district meetings by June 1, 2022 and staying informed on the district’s actions. If you find yourself asking…But how can I add these tasks to my already busy schedule? There is an easy way.
WaterWrights.net attends a lot of the water/irrigation district meetings on a monthly basis. You could subscribe to their newsletter and have the information emailed directly to your Inbox. They also publish a calendar of all the meetings, so you can plan ahead and attend the two meetings in-person (or via Zoom, if applicable). These are the two easy parts of setting a resolution (specificity and timeliness), the third one is the toughest…monitoring and following up! If you have a business partner or family member you share business goals with, the easiest way to help you stay accountable is to ask them to assist you in completing your resolution. Humans have a natural desire to belong to a group. Why not ask someone to be part of your group and check in on your progress each month?
If the above stated goal is one of your New Year’s resolutions, but you do not know where to start and have questions like: (1) Which sub-basin(s) is/are my ranch located within? (2) Who oversees the GSA in my area? (3) Has the GSP been approved or reviewed by the
Department of Water Resources yet? or (4) How can I get/stay more involved in my local water community? Risk Mitigators & Advisors can sit down with you and make a plan that addresses your specific needs. Remember, you cannot change something that you do not track; and you cannot track something that is not specific. Our risk management professionals can assist you in every step along the way to help you attain your business New Year’s resolution. Water is important to agriculture; and if you remember School House Rock (like I do), you know that “Knowledge is Power!”
If you have a business resolution for this new year that you would like some assistance with, give Risk Mitigators & Advisors a call at 559-549-2850 or send us an email at admin@RiskMitigators.net We’ll listen to your resolution and help hold you accountable by monitoring and following up on your progress. Happy New Year!
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