It’s that time of year again, time for people to set resolutions just to break them. I feel so sad that we break promises to ourselves every year. I’m hoping that we can use the New Year as good motivation instead of for restrictive and negative behavior. I, myself, want to set an intention for the New Year but have no real intention to set HUGE resolutions as I’m only human and I’m bound to get distracted if I overwhelm and restrict myself.
The Problem with New Year Resolution Diets
I heard on the radio yesterday that most people’s New Year’s diets last 3 weeks and 4 days. I was surprised. I wasn’t surprised that it was so short, instead, the opposite. I’m actually surprised that most people last that long! It’s not that I don’t have faith in peoples’ abilities its just that when we use diet as a verb it is incredibly restricting and temptations suddenly appear EVERYWHERE no matter how hard we try to avoid them.
The problem with going on a diet is that we are inevitably going to come off of it. And when we do it’s normally not a graceful step off of it, it’s usually a belly flop into the deep end. So, instead of trying to go on some big diet this year, what if we just made a few small changes to compound over the year.
These big lofty New Years Resolutions unfortunately set you up for failure. You’re human and you need small, realistic goals & changes, not lofty unrealistic resolutions. You’d be surprised how small changes pay out large dividends in the long run.
Where Were You Last Year
Think back to last year, what have you accomplished? I think you can at least think of a few things. And the more you think the more you’ll realize you actually accomplished a lot. Write down what you accomplished and see if there are any themes.
Now, write down what you wanted to accomplish but didn’t. This isn’t meant to make you feel bad but it will help you see where your priorities were this year. Did you get promoted at work but didn’t hit many PRs in the gym? I would guess you spent more time at work than at the gym. That’s ok, it’s just going to help you recognize where your focus has been and why you are achieving some things and not others.
Theme(s) of the Year
Speaking of focus, I have decided that instead of lofty resolutions, I’m going to set words of intention for the year or themes to guide me and my goals.
Say what?!
I’m going to use the words as a way to drive my goals and my actions this year. They will be the underlying theme to my 2019 and whenever I feel off track, I will turn back to them to figure out how to realign my self.
Make sense yet?!
Ok, let me try to explain further just in case I’m not making any sense.
Focus & Connection
My themes this year that I thought of were focus & connection. Why? Because I want to use 2019 to grow my business & platform and to do that I need to FOCUS like really really focus and at the same time I need to connect with others.
Focus
I, like many, have shiny object syndrome. I’m easily distracted and often go towards what’s easy and more comfortable. However, it usually derails me and I try to multitask and at the end of the day I end up getting less done than I would have if I just focused.
I recognized I needed more focus on the few flights I took the 2nd half of this year. I had no access to the Internet and the amount of work I got done in a 90 minute flight was MIND BLOWING. All I needed was some focus and minimal distraction. Dang.
That made me realize I need to focus both in the day to day and in the big picture. The year of focus, here we come. I plan on using a few organization means (i.e. apps & planners) as well as some other humans to help me focus, stay tuned!
Connection
I love people. I think one of my biggest strengths is that I’m really good at connecting with said people. I love learning about others and love getting to know them and always have. However, the past year I’ve been pretty busy worrying so much about what others will think of what I’m doing that I forgot to do what I’m best at and that’s connecting.
I want to spend more time this year connecting with others. Through conferences, coffee dates, Skype dates, phone calls, Instagram stories etc. Whether for business or for personal reasons I want to spend more time connecting and learning from others because it’s what I love to do and what excites me to continue what I do.
Find Your Word
While I support the notion of setting goals, I want you to have a theme or word for the year. Have something that will help guide & support your goals. Something that feels good and empowering. Make it yours and own it.
What is your word or words for the 2019?! I would love to know!
xoxo,
Sassy
