A new year brings with it the usual pomp and fest, with every human declaring, “New year, new me.” At this point, you are either bursting with energy and eager to work on your goal or you are full of dread, thinking of the age you would be turning during the year, and wondering if this is the year you finally make your resolutions stick.
When making goals or resolutions, here are a few things to keep in mind
Set goals that matter to you. What is the most important thing you need to work on now? Just because everyone is reading books or starting businesses does not mean you have to at that point in time. Do you?
Start small. Sometimes, it is hard to see so far out into the future. Think six months, three months, a month ahead. Whatever works for you. On your long list of goals, just pick 3 or 5 at most that you are going to work on. As the Russian proverb goes, “If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one.”
Perfection is your enemy. You do not have to see the end of the road before you start walking. You just have to trust that you are on the right path. You might not have your schedule figured out, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that every day, you are putting in a minimum effort to grow and improve.
Do not get too caught up with results. You might be very clear about what you want to achieve, but you are not seeing results immediately. This could cut across certain goals like health, finances and skill development. Think long term instead, and break up your goals into small manageable tasks you can do each day. Focus on the process, the wins will come.
Quality trumps quantity. Always. You cannot do everything at once. You would either burn out or be unenthusiastic about what you do. Take breaks. You do not have to be fully productive every second.
January 1 is long gone, and does this mean it is too late to start working on your goals? Not at all. That date is just a random day filled with unnecessary drama. Use any other date as a motivation to start; a birthday, a new month, a new week, a new day.
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