Ugh, it's another New Year? I've only just recovered from 2023.
Christmas, New Year, and then a Birthday in the first week of January.
My Birthday was great; I'd like to forget the rest for all sorts of family reasons.
So, here we are, a new start, another chance to get it right, new habits, and set goals and resolutions.
Oh, how I hate it all.
"May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's Resolutions" ~ Joey Adams
I settled for the above quote as it sums up exactly how pointless New Year resolutions and goals are for me.
I have intentions and things I want to get done this year, but I've decided to concentrate on the process.
It is understanding how I work and developing a better system, which I hope offers a better mindset.
If I start positively, it shows through my daily working life, making me feel less stressed and more calm.
I want to progress and move forward.
This is my two-word mantra for 2024: MOVE FORWARD.
I didn't appreciate how much I focused on the past until a well-meaning friend over coffee commented how I appeared to have one foot in the past.
Setting goals changes your life all for a moment - well done, you've climbed that mountain, bagged that new client, made £20k revenue this month, and read ten books, all of which is great, but then you end up striving for the next thing the next set of goals.
As good as it feels to hit targets or goals, once it's done, you move on; focussing on having a systematic process to get from A - B helps you make progress, and this is what James Clear talks about in his book "Atomic Habits."
It's more about taking the steps to achieve the end goal rather than achieving it.
And this has turned my thinking on its head.
How many years have you ended up on 31 December, remonstrating how little you feel you've achieved in the past year?
I know I have.
Thinking I'm a failure, what have I achieved in the past year, and what was it all for?
It has more to do with the journey than the destination, focusing on how I will get there rather than the physical results.
So, what am I changing?
I ended 2023 by reviewing the year, what went well, what was bad, the challenges, and my successes, and then I started my 2024 journal by writing a load of affirmations to make me feel good about the new year and more focused on what I want.
I started to think about how I would get there that's when my approach to goal setting changed to looking at the process and what each step involves.
And I had a moment when suddenly stuff made sense, and I understood the whole point of my intentions.
I've always felt threatened by goal setting, from trying to hit ridiculously high sales targets to making a vast number of sales calls.
It all seemed futile as all I did was chase numbers, which never worked for me.
I was always better at chasing fewer clients with high-profit margins than many with low-profit margins.
It's just how I work, and when it comes to business, after more than twenty-five years, I examine my company's profitability and where it comes from rather than just the turnover.
Profit is reality, turnover is vanity, and still, I meet with many business people entrenched in the latter.
Resolutions fail because they require people to change their behaviour and habits; for example, I'm doing Dry January.
I've been doing it for three years but want to go beyond 31 January this year.
I've been examining my relationship with alcohol, and I'm not comfortable with it.
This is a habit and mindset change; the process is the steps I take to stop drinking.
With the first week of January done, I am optimistic about my trajectory.
You can't be too old to set new challenges and ideals, but it depends on how determined you are to reach the destination.
I intend to make the most of 2024 as best I can.
I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that I don't succumb to opening that rather lovely bottle of red.
Until next time.