I’ve never been good at New Year’s Resolutions. But last year I got a different mindset which helped me achieve more than I had in a long time. It came from an ad that I frequently saw on Pinterest about giving 2 months to become a changed woman. I was skeptical that I could actually end up a different person after just two months, but it helped me re-evaluate the timelines that I gave myself.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to give up sugar for a year, but I figured I could give it up for 25 days to begin with (not sure how I landed on that number but it was a good start). I confess I only made it through 23 days before I gave into my desire for soda, but that’s a whole lot better than not attempting anything at all. And I continued to set those smaller goals through the remainder of the year.
Another goal I had set for myself was to read one book per month. I figured I could handle focusing on one month at a time rather than thinking about a larger quantity over a longer time period. I used to love reading and was excited to get back into it. After so many years of letting screens and technology affect my attention span, it was harder to get back into it than I realized it would be. Plus I guess I kind of set myself up for failure as the first book I decided to read was over 800 pages. Even though I loved the story and really enjoyed reading again, it was still hard to stay focused for too much time. So I realized that I would need to adjust my goal, which was a much better decision than just giving up on the goal completely. While my goal went back to a longer time frame, it was just more realistic to strive to read 5 books in 2024. Other hobbies during the holidays took up my time and I didn’t end up finishing that 5th book. But the accomplishments I did reach was so much better than anything I did in the previous 10 years.
All of this brings me to the present, the beginning of a new year and again setting goals for myself. On January 1st as I reflected on things I want to accomplish in my life and motivated by my successes from last year I came up with quite a long list of goals. I reviewed my list and changed it several times to become more manageable. In the end, I decided that I needed a theme for my year, a word to help define what all I wanted accomplish. And so 2025 is my year of Learning. All experts today started as a beginner at one time. And if I want to get to certain places in life I have to take that first step and keep moving.
My list of goals is still long, but I’m taking it all one step at a time. What do I think I can accomplish in January? What can I accomplish this week that will motivate me to do it again next week? And as I cross off goals on my list, I will then look at another one and decide what I can realistically accomplish if I commit time and energy to it.
If you are also attempting to reach some goals this year, tell me about it in the comments. Do you have a word for the year? I’d love to hear about it.
“Don’t worry too much about how you are going to get it all done. Get started, learn as you go, and will all come to you. Action creates momentum, and momentum energizes you to keep going.”
