Virtue #4-Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

Commitment changes everything. It’s not enough to say we’ll do a thing. We must resolve to do it. Franklin lived in a much different time. Honor was something to be cherished and respected especially when it came to your fellow man.

It’s right there in the Declaration of Independence- “We pledge our lives, fortunes and sacred honor.” 

Back then a man breaking his word could mean ruining his reputation for good. Therefore, it’s no surprise Franklin held in such high esteem the virtue of resolution. One must be willing to carry out their commitments.

My father used to say, “Your word is your bond.” I remember when I was growing up he was a home builder. One time we were having a conversation and he was really distraught. After some prying I got to the heart of the matter. He was building a house for an elderly widow. They had agreed to a price for the construction of what would be her final home.

One day my father gets a call from his bank. “Frank, how much is left on the house you’re building for Ms. ____?” My father was immediately confused. He was under the impression the woman was going to be paying cash for the home and would not need to go to the bank to get financing. She was short on the money to finish her home and was now at the bank asking for a loan.

I asked my father what the contract read. He said there was no contract. It was a verbal agreement. You are probably like me and shocked such an arrangement would happen in the 21st century. What contractor builds a house without, well, a contract? My Dad and his Dad before him that’s who.

My Dad was a leftover from an age where people’s word was in fact their bond. He went on to explain to me how it would have been an insult to even ask people to sign something saying they’d do what they were supposed to do. It was a sign of distrust. He never built another home without a contract. Times have changed. Few people resolve to do the right thing these days and actually mean it.

We must be different. Resolution is more than just saying you will do a thing. Once you are resolved that’s that. It’s as good as done. It’s important we set resolutions for ourselves on many things. New Year’s resolutions aren’t really resolutions at all. These are just desired wishes we say. Almost all are broken inside of two months.

We must be willing to resolve to never be unfaithful to our spouse. Say it in your head. “I will never be unfaithful to my spouse.” I have found a valuable practice is to write down resolutions. When I set out to write a book, complete the creation of one of my training courses or perform any other work I resolve to do it. When I have particular items on my high hard goals list that need attention I will often in my daily journal write, “I resolve to complete this task today.” Not all tasks are resolutions. That would dilute the power of resolve. Only the most important are marked resolutions. 

These are promises I make to myself. It’s important to remember what Richard Fyman famously said,  “You must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” 

Don’t make resolutions you have no intention of keeping, but have the courage to make the ones you know you must. If it doesn’t make you a bit uncomfortable to make the resolution it’s not big enough. You should feel a twinge of uneasiness when you resolve to something because it’s a serious commitment, a bond as my father said, not to be broken.

One of the most inspiring examples of resolve was portrayed in James McMurtry’s novel ‘Lonesome Dove.’ The story is about two retired Texas Rangers living down near the Mexican border on a cattle ranch as bachelors. They are bored and longing for the days when life held adventure.

Gus and Call are two of the most famous characters ever conceived on the page. After one of their fellow Rangers (Jake Spoon) comes to visit and starts talking about cattle prices in Montana and how others are driving herds of cattle that way from the southern states, Captain Call gets an itch for adventure. Driving a herd of cattle to Montana becomes the only thing that will scratch that itch.

The novel then follows these two best friends and surrogate brother figures through my personal favorite story of all time. Eventually, Gus dies from an infection brought on from an arrow being shot in his leg. Before he dies he makes a request to be buried by a small stream under a tree back in Texas where he once kissed the love of his life, Clara. 

Call agrees to fulfill the commitment. After Gus dies, Call starts his trek back to Texas with Gus’s body in a wooden casket. Carrying a coffin through treacherous territory in the 18th century proves to be daunting. Throughout the entire episode the reader can’t help but ask himself time and again, “Why is he doing this? Gus is dead. Why doesn’t he just find another place to bury him?”

It’s because Call was resolved. He made a promise to his beloved friend, and he resolved to keep it. He couldn’t live with himself if he did otherwise. That’s what resolution is. It’s something we commit to so deeply we will never be able to rest easy should we not fulfill its demand.

The Stoics knew a thing or two about resolve and what resolutions we should and should not make.

Stoic philosopher Epictetus once wrote, “Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, office, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing. (Enchiridion 1.1)”

The Stoics acknowledged what was and was not within our power. For example, if you resolve to lose weight you have already begun a losing proposition. Why? You cannot control this directly. Read that last sentence again. 

I know you think I’m crazy for writing such a thing, but it’s true. You cannot directly change your body's chemistry per se. What you can control is what controls your body’s chemistry. Allow me to explain. If you want to lose weight you must control actions that will lead to that end. You must resolve to eat healthier foods. You must resolve to commit to exercise and healthy habits. 

Many of us make the final outcome our resolution. This is a mistake because we have no direct control over it. We have no more control over whether or not we lose 20 pounds than Nick Saban does over winning another National Championship. We only have control over the inputs that might lead to our desired outcome.

Nick Saban’s love of ‘the process’ is the thing of legend. What does he mean by process? It means he is resolved to execute those things within his power to the utmost of his ability. It’s controlling the first 7 seconds off the ball that he is concerned about. If he can do this enough times the wins will take care of themselves. 

 So make committing to the inputs your resolution. Then the outcome will take care of itself.

Franklin’s journal for keeping tally of his behaviors is very critical here. How can you actually check off a box to indicate you have kept your resolve? It’s simple really. Looking back at the example above. If you have resolved to exercise more as a means to lose weight, put an ‘X’ by every day you meet this commitment. You kept your resolve. Your brain will receive a slight hit of dopamine and will become satisfied with this action and in fact crave it.

More importantly, when you make fulfilling your resolutions a habit you will gain confidence. You will be more willing to take on larger and harder commitments. Resolution will become part of who you are. Like all sustainable habits it will become an identity based habit. When someone asks, “How is it that you always seem to keep your resolutions?” Your answer will be, “Because that’s who I am. I identify myself as one who is disciplined and I only make resolutions that I know I can control. I control the actions and inputs that will lead to their achievement.”

One of the all time great stories regarding resolve was that of Spanish explorer and conqueror Cortes. We’ve all heard the story of how he burned his ships. Although a little dramatic effect has been added over the centuries here is the full story.

Cortés Burns His Boats

Montezuma's messengers returned to the emperor with the terrifying reports of their encounter with the Spaniards: their guns, horses, dogs and their lust for gold. Montezuma was paralyzed by their tales, and by the possibility that Cortés was the returning Quetzalcoatl, "the feathered serpent," an exiled deity who vowed to return one day to claim his kingdom

Cortés, meanwhile, weighed his options. He had not yet seen the magical city of Tenochtitlán, but he knew it was there, 200 miles away. He faced imprisonment or death for defying the governor if he returned to Cuba. His only alternative was to conquer and settle part of the land. To do this, he prompted his supporters to install a municipal and resigned from the post conferred on him by Velásquez. The legally-constituted "town council of Villa Rica" then offered him the post of captain-general. He accepted the post and severed his connection with Velásquez. Those of his men still loyal to the Governor of Cuba conspired to seize a ship and escape to Cuba, but Cortés moved swiftly to quash their plans. To make sure such a mutiny did not happen again, he decided to sink his ships, on the pretext that they were not seaworthy. 

His ships sunk, Cortés marched into the interior, to the territory of the Tlaxcalans. They were resolute enemies of Mexico and Cortés thought they might join him in a military alliance against the Aztecs. After a long debate, the Tlaxcalans decided to fight Cortés instead, and they suffered terrible losses. Eventually they sued for peace and agreed to go with Cortés to Mexico. Cortés marched on with the Tlaxcalan warriors to Cholula, 20 miles from Tlaxcala. A story spread from the Tlaxcalans to Malinche that the Cholulans were planning to trap Cortés inside the city and massacre his army. When the Cholulan leadership and many of their warriors gathered, unarmed, in a great enclosure by the pyramid temple of Quetzalcoatl, the Spanish and the Tlaxcalans killed them. The massacre had a chilling effect, provoking other kingdoms and cities in Montezuma's empire to submit to Cortés' demands. (PBS.org)

For Cortes there was no turning back. He was resolved in his mission to succeed. 

Finally, I’ll leave you with another great historical figure and a word of encouragement from him. It can be said no other single figure in history did more to save the world from Nazi rule than Winston Churchill. Churchill was a man of resolve to be sure. The stories of his search for glory and honor are countless.

He is also one of the most quoted statesmen of all time. Maybe that’s because he gave teams of speeches and few could match his voluminous writings. However, of all the speeches and quotes one has always stood out to me. 

On October 29, 1941 Winston Churchill gave one of his most famous speeches. It was and address at his alma mater, Harrow during WWII. He said:

“You cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are; yet without imagination not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist, certainly many more than will happen; but then they must also pray to be given that extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination.

But for everyone, surely, what we have gone through in this period—I am addressing myself to the School—surely from this period of ten months this is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force: never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago and to many countries it seemed our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of our country, were gone and finished and liquidated.

Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer.”

I can’t think of a better way to illustrate what it means to be resolved. Once you have made a resolution, “Never give in. never, never, never, never…”