You didn’t turn into a health-nut, fitness-god, work-driven, positive-ray-of-sheer-sunlight when the ball dropped? Good, neither did anyone else.
Many people use the New Year as motivation for new beginnings, but that kind of pressure can be entirely overwhelming. By now you’ve probably made your New Year’s resolutions and tucked them away, safely just out of reach.
But I’m here to tell you, that’s fine! No need to beat yourself up.
If a plan doesn’t work for you, don’t force it. That’s the fastest way to create self-doubt, disappointment, and frustration. This doesn’t mean you must abandon your goals for bettering yourself; instead, it means you need to find a new approach for your New Year’s resolutions.
Let’s call this method “New Year’s behavioral shifts based on trial and error.” On second thought, let’s forget the name and just do it because that’s what really matters.
1. Build off your 2017 momentum
Taking the first step is generally the hardest part. So cut that step out— it’s as simple as that. Look at the strides you made in 2017 and expand on them. Chip and Dan Heath, bestselling authors of Switch, call this growing the bright spots.
Oftentimes, expansion happens naturally because we focus on things we want and need. Motivational Speaker Mel Robbins believes you should map out the progress you made last year to show yourself your drive and to reflect on lessons learned. From there, your next steps will seem natural instead of forced by the calendar. For those of you trying something totally new, there is still a way to use 2017’s momentum.
Remember that rough idea you had for a business? Now take that idea and call it a start. Even if you hate it or know it’s not worth a dime, tell yourself you’ve already started building your own company.
Or say you want be a master yoga instructor, but you’ve never even stretched. Look at other ways you’ve incorporated yoga-ish things into your life. Maybe you meditate, or maybe you’ve only googled meditation. There’s your start. You’re already leaps and bounds ahead of others.
2. Conduct bi-monthly experiments
You wouldn’t commit to buying a car before test driving multiple cars would you? It’s kind of the same with methods for achieving goals. For most people, once a goal is set it’s go-time. But the method for reaching these goals is overlooked. Instead, we dive head first into ditching carbs to lose 10 lbs or working 30 min overtime every night to get a promotion.
This one-track mindset will not withstand the pressures of everyday life that have made this goal unattainable so for long. Instead, experiment with different ways to contribute to your goal.
Take on a behavior that you believe will help you reach your end-goal for two weeks and then assess how it makes you feel. Look at your mental, physical, and emotional health and determine if something needs to change. You might also try the 30-30-30 rule.
By doing experiments, you give yourself room to “fail” without abandoning your goal. There are an infinite amount of ways to get from point A to point B; try them all and find the best route for you.
3. Don’t be afraid to change goals
After months of experimentation (or maybe just a short two weeks), you might realize what you originally wanted isn’t what’s best for you. There is no shame in changing your goals to better fit where you’re at in life.
We also cannot predict where life will take us. Five months from now your goal might be irrelevant. Who needs a promotion when you started your own business. Life can surprise you.
Adapting your goals to follow you through your life is key to maintaining drive. Do not let go of your goals because you’ve outgrown them. Set new ones. Do not let go because x, y, and z have changed. Reexamine the reason your goals and find ways to fit them to your new life.
Life is not regulated by a ball dropping at midnight. Take the pressure out of New Year’s resolutions and look at this year’s goals as a small segment of a long journey in finding what makes you happiest.
