Why don't you know your new year's resolution yet?
Yes, I know it’s not the end of the year yet.
Regardless, we shouldn't wait for an impending sense of dread to think of our future goals.
Time will continue to tick away, it waits for no-one.
Quite simply this truth should scare more people into action by building positive habits.
Realistically it doesn't, so here is a few ways to combat that.
Reflection.
It’s already been 10 months into the year, and what a year it has been. 2020 has been eventful, full of surprises, but you already know that.
Yet that's not the point, you have had approximately 300 days to reflect.
That's almost 43 weeks.
To assess yourself, your situation, and how you have progressed throughout the year.
Now I will be the first to say, a pandemic changes things.
This year won't be the one that has the simplest way of achieving your resolutions or goals you were so motivated to crush at the start of the year.
So should we just fold, because of the hand we have been dealt?
In the face of adversity, we are forced to change our goals to suit the current climate.
If we cant do that, we change our expectations.
Write a list.
Make some time to sit down, in a quiet space. Away from others and technologies. Think about what you set out to achieve this year.
Maybe you wrote it down in a notepad, or on your calendar, perhaps your phone’s lock screen.
Start to jot down where you wanted to be, and where you currently are.
How can you bridge the gap, and I mean how can YOU bridge the gap.
Not what your role model did, not your boss or your friends.
Think about what would work for you, what is sustainable and considers all the different aspects of your life that must be taken into consideration.
What has functioned as a barrier from your personal or professional life to achieving your resolutions and goals this year?
Write a list of these barriers, reflect on what you can change or remove from your life.
Conversely, write a list of the positive influences or enablers in your life. What keeps you accountable and consistent?
Compare these two lists, be honest with yourself. What here is truly stopping you that you can not change or find a way to overcome.
Barriers do exist, but often we are the ones to create them.
Perhaps an internal conflict, that keeps us surrounded by chaos. Stuck in positive and negative cycles.
Or is it toxic people and relationships who poison our thoughts or deplete our energy?
Are we lying to ourselves about when we have tried our best, to avoid change and the unfamiliar environments that ensue?
Using a list and reflection as a tool, realise that we shouldn't always wait for the opportunity. We should create the optimal environment to seize it.
End goal.
If you set out to achieve something at the start of a year, did you actually make it a measurable or specific thing?
Did your resolution sound something like this?
To be a better person; physically, mentally and spiritually.
That's what my resolution use to be.
While at first, we might think, “ah, that's a good resolution it encompasses a lot”
It certainly does, but how do you actually measure that?
Restructured considering an end goal, it could actually be:
To improve my 10km run time, read a new book each month, and commit to three meditation’s every week.
The path of least resistance is often riddled with subjective measures.
Be selfish.
My favourite suggestion.
When are you actually going to make time for yourself unapologetically?
When do you decide to prioritise your own ambitions, interests or hobbies?
If you’re someone who thinks, “I don't have the time”, “This year I can’t afford to do that”, or perhaps my favourite “Oh I'll get to that when I finish x”.
Restructure it.
Say “When I do this for me, I can do that for you”.
Be unapologetic, enjoy your time on your terms.
Key Points.
Remember when making your resolution.
Be Selfish, consider the end goal, make a list and reflect.
If we are able to repeat this process, we will have success in achieving our resolutions.
Don’t wait for next year, next Monday or the next opportunity.
One thing I am sure of, time won't wait.
Make the changes now and implement them with consistency.
Get the upper hand and make time work for you and not against you.
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