New Year, Same You?
The start of a new year tends to bring this “sprint” towards big goals and lasting change. But have you ever kept a resolution…all year?
Odds are, you haven’t. But, you’re actually in the majority, because most people haven’t either.
The slogan “new year, new you” sounds great and all, but nothing magical happens from December 31st to January 1st to make that slogan true. So, lets change it.
“New year, same you.”
No, it doesn’t sound nearly as transformative and might actually sound…well, sad for some. But, it is much more realistic and, arguably, more motivating.
Stay with me here.
It is indeed a new year, and you indeed are the same person. However, with the new year can come new patterns, habits, and goals. And you, yes, the same you, have the potential to create new patters, habits, and goals in the new year.
But how? You might ask. Keep reading for a few things to keep in mind this year.
Dream big. Start small.
Many people have big, lofty goals, yet they can’t tell you how they’ll achieve them. Dreaming is absolutely the best first step. Allow yourself to color outside the lines and imagine big and bold dreams. Then, using those big dreams, narrow them down to create smaller and smaller goals.
These small goals will provide you realistic steps in achieving your bigger goals. So often people set goals that are too big, without realistic steps to get there, and ultimately feel like a failure. This can compound over time, resulting in low self-esteem and little desire to set new goals. So, after dreaming big, create a plan with smaller steps to help you get there!
Motivation will come and go.
“I’ll get to it when I feel like it.” Unfortunately, motivation is not a constant. It comes and it goes depending on many different life factors. If you always rely on motivation to accomplish something, how often will it get done? Odds are, not as often as you may want. Knowing this ahead of time can be helpful, because in setting your goal you are committing to doing something regardless of how motivated you are in that moment.
Reward yourself.
For some, checking it off a list is enough of a reward, but others might need a little extra. Feel free to reward yourself along the way as you accomplish hard things, consistently. Start with smaller rewards for the smaller goals, and feel free to increase them as you move closer to your big and bold dreams!