A brand new year for most of us brings reflection and hope towards the future. A new year seems to carry with it the possibility of a new us.
All those bad habits we want to stop, all the hobbies we want to start and all the dreams we want to chase feel close and possible. Not everyone makes resolutions or sets goals for the new year but if you do, here are some reminders for you.
Your Goal Doesn’t Have to Revolve Around Your Body
If you have a goal to lose weight or start eating better or get stronger, that’s totally fine. Health is important but if these goals are coming from a place of self-hatred that’s not a great thing to focus on for the year. This is just a reminder that you don’t have to set a goal that involves your body in any way. It’s okay to set goals centered on new habits, working on a hobby, strengthening relationships, or learning a new skill. You are so much more than your body and you bring more to the table than your pant size.
Your Goals Are Meant to Serve YOU
It’s easy to see super-productive people and to want to copy their habits. The IDEA of waking up at 5 a.m. every morning might appeal to you but it’s important to ask why? How would it benefit you and does that actually matter right now? What do you like about the idea of THAT new habit? If waking up early sounds nice because you imagine you’d have hours before work to journal, brainstorm other ways you could make journaling happen that fit your season right now. There is nothing wrong with wanting to workout, meditate, eat better, wake up early, or read more books. Just make sure you know WHY you’re setting the goals you are. The goals you set should help you step towards the things that matter to YOU, not just the things you think you’re “supposed” to want to work on.
A Small Goal You Will Actually Stick With Will Get You Further than a Giant Goal You’ll Give Up On After a Week.
I have had to learn this the hard way but small goals are WAY better. That kind of advice goes against the typical advice of dream big and reach for the stars. When we are dreaming and creating a vision for our life, that’s when we want to shoot high and dream big. Give yourself something big and audacious to shoot for down the road. When it comes to our daily work of walking towards that big dream and making changes, setting smaller goals is better. Because when it comes to new habits, projects, and goals, consistency always outweighs quantity. If you are a musician you know that practicing 20 minutes every day consistently will build your skills and help you perfect a piece of music quicker than practicing for 2 hours one day a week.
So as you sit down to write out goals for the new year, ask yourself “What’s sustainable and what can I truly commit to? What feels doable?”
Maybe instead of setting a goal to read four books this month, you set a goal to read for 15 minutes every night before bed. Instead of committing to workout every day and eating 100% clean, you commit to show up at the gym 3x a week and cut out soda this first month.
The sense of accomplishment you feel after a month of sticking with your goals will give you the confidence to increase your capacity and set a slightly more challenging goal for the next month. By the end of the year, you’ll be amazed where you’re at. Another way of putting it is that 38% improvement from last year is better than shooting to be 90% better but ending up in the exact same place because you gave up 3 weeks into your new goals.
Setbacks and failures ARE NORMAL
One pitfall I always fell into with a New Year was this idea of trying to keep a “perfect streak” when it came to new habits. I planned to quit cold turkey, make a change and never go back. I never accounted for surprises or setbacks or relapses. Recently I have learned the importance of not only accepting but EMBRACING the knowledge that you will fall off the wagon. The fact that 2022 has started doesn’t change anything about your circumstances or the person you are. You still have to deal with current you and work on growth and change and that’s messy. You will miss a workout, you’ll skip your reading one morning, you won’t push play on that class, or you’ll sleep in.
I saw so much growth when I simply accepted that failure and setbacks are a part of this process of change. So expect them and have a plan to bounce back from them. That way when you do fail and break the streak you are ready and have a plan to jump right back in.
I hope these reminders help you as you step into 2022. You are capable of change and you can grow and flourish right where you are.
With Lots of Love,
