I’ll admit it, this year, all the hype about the New Year really didn’t resonate with me.
Research shows we’re more likely to notice the negative than the positive, and at the end of the last year, I had some negative outcomes – goals I hadn’t accomplished – that my mind kept returning to – over and over.
I was frustrated that I hadn’t accomplished a few key goals that, last January, had seemed very do-able. I wasn’t clear why I struggled and why I hadn’t created the results I had envisioned, and the idea of creating new goals – or continuing to focus on the old ones – just didn’t excite me.
So, instead, I spent some time looking at where things went off course (not a lot of fun). When I was honest with myself, I could see that, for a variety of reasons, those goals I didn’t accomplish never stood a chance.
I set the goals. I was excited about my goals. But I didn’t set up the foundation that was needed to make them happen.
My progress on both goals (one was personal and one was professional) was knocked off track. I could have planned better; and there were some crazy life events that I never would have predicted, that would have made things difficult no matter what.
I lost my footing.
As I tell everyone I work with, this is entirely normal. However, I hadn’t set things up to get back on track when things got wonky.
In both situations – the goals I didn’t achieve – I lacked the habits. I didn’t have enough support. And when things started going sideways, because I wasn’t really prepared (or paying the right kind of attention), my mindset tricks fell by the wayside too.
Instead of helping me succeed, my thinking around these two goals just made everything harder. As success began to recede in the distance, I lost my mojo. I realize now that I spent far too much time “going through the motions,” continuing to work hard at what wasn’t working, feeling frustrated, and building my own little hamster wheel of no results.
And when I was honest with myself, I discovered that this was why I was not interested in crafting a big set of shiny new goals for the brand new year.
I don’t want to focus on goals this year. I want to focus on creating a process for success that allows a good outcome to be inevitable.
It boils down to habits and routines. The truth is, if I had built the habits of taking consistent, effective steps (even teeny tiny ones) with my behaviors and with my thinking, I’d be celebrating major success with both of these goals.
If I’d focused on the habits and routines, I’d have known how to stay on track and get back on it when life pulled me off. I’d be confident that I was moving in the right direction. I’d have spent the year seeing change happen and success unfold.
This year, I’m focusing on building strong, consistent habits and routines and I want to help you do this too.
Each month I’ll be releasing a brand new 7-day program designed to help you put powerhouse habits – new behaviors and ways of thinking – into place in your life. The first program in this new, Emotional Eating Toolbox Series is available now.
Ending Overeating, How to Make This Plan, Your Last Plan is where I wish I’d started with those two niggling goals last January. This is the systematic approach that allows you to break free of your hamster wheel and start crafting a path that gets you where you want to go.
Step by do-able step.
If you feel like you spent too much time going in circles last year, it would pay to get honest with yourself about why that happened. Ask yourself what habits, routines, and changes need to show up in your life for you to truly create long-term success. Start with the foundation. Focus on the habits. Keep it do-able.
Let’s do this thing – once and for all!
Talk soon,
