by Tony Chen

Obviously, the most common new years resolution? Going on a diet.

A while back, I did a series on becoming an organizational change agent (and honestly, how difficult it is to be one). If heart disease patients won't change their behavior to avoid death, how can leaders change other's behavior "for the good of the organization?" Why are we humans so stuck on our ways?

Change or Die is a new book by Alan Deutschman (who wrote the original Fast Company Change or Die article). Check out his blog at Fastcompany.com on why diets never work:

Start by realizing that it's hard to do away with our "problems" when those "problems" are actually our attempted "solutions" to deeper issues. For example, you might think that overeating is your problem, and so your New Years resolution is to go on a diet and lose weight. But what if overeating is the way you try to solve more fundamental problems such as stress, anxiety, loneliness, and existential despair? Overeating is an "attempted solution" to those deeper troubles. It's a bad solution, because ultimately it can undermine or ruin your health. But it's the "solution" that you know and trust.

In this case the way to change is to find other, better solutions to the underlying problems of stress, anxiety, and loneliness. Instead of going on a diet, you might want to take up yoga or meditation, or to get more involved in a social group or church. Instead of going back to the same "solution" that has failed you year after year when you make New Years resolutions--in this case, dieting--why not try a new solution?

Bingo. Perfect example of a root cause analysis of our motivation in life.

Personally, I continue to be pleasantly surprised at my own experiences in 24-hour fasts. I don't fast for health reasons; more so, it's sort of a personal expression of a deeper hunger (I love John Piper's description of fasting). As strange as it sounds, my mind is unusually clear when I'm fasting. Amazing how my mind can focus on the truly important things when I'm not subconsciously always thinking about the next treat.