Mid-Summer Resolutions: It's Not Too Late!
It's mid-July. So let's talk about your New Year's resolutions.
What has become of them?
Have you achieved them or have they gone to die in some forgotten drawer inside your mind?
Whether you’ve achieved them or not, have you ever wondered why is it that we decide to make changes at the beginning of a year?
Why not in February or September?
As the old proverb says, the best time to start something was a year ago.
The second best time is now.
Indeed, the now is all we have.
So, let me ask you a question.
Where do you want to be in December 2018?
How do you want to feel by then?
How do you want to look?
How do you want to spend your time?
What items on your to-do list do you wish to check off by then?
What changes do you wish to affect in your life and around you by then?
Why not take some time to assess your January priorities, revise if necessary, add new ones, and then re-commit to achieving them?
Then, take action!
Right now!
A lot of people find it difficult to reset “this late in the year”. Their expectations of themselves were enormous in January; by July, the flame has subdued. Come Fall, the drive will have lessened even more.
Are you one of those people?
Do your goals seem overwhelming right now?
They don’t have to be.
Life is happening right now and that means every new day is an opportunity to start a new.
So before you throw in the towel and passively slide through the rest of the year, here’s a friendly reminder that you don’t have to.
There’s still plenty of time to OWN IT.
And here are 3R’s to help you get there:
Review. Take a look at the goals and resolutions you set for yourself at any point in the last seven months or before. Write them all down. Use this opportunity to celebrate the goals you’ve met, or even partially met. Then, write down some new goals. Things have inevitably changed. What seems interesting, inviting, and important to you right now?
To review my goals, I like to use a simple rubric that looks like this:
0 = haven't done it; 5 Stars = completed; Between 1 and 5 stars, levels of progress.
And I am sure you can devise one you like.
Realign. Take a look at all of the goals, old and new alike, and decide which ones will have the pull. What is your “why” behind them? Be honest. Does it really matter if you let some of the wishes, desires, and goals go? Don’t worry about your ego; it is OK that you’ve changed and that certain things matter less now than they did even four months ago.
Focus on the goals that incite excitement within you. They have to *feel* really important and meaningful, not just “I always wanted this, so I should try.”
For example, I always wanted to learn to play the guitar. It would be awesome! And this goal floats in my head every year, but somehow it hasn’t happened. It doesn’t mean it won’t in the future; it only means that, right now, my desires and focus are elsewhere. And that’s ok.
In my Mid-Summer Review, I’m not going to put this goal down because it’s not really realistic that it will happen. However, I will highlight the types of goals that stir my blood and have me feeling excited at the prospect of getting them done.
Recommit. Take a good, hard, long look at the goals and resolutions you’ve highlighted. Then, make a commitment—and a plan—on how you will achieve them.
Finally, in addition to having a clear, deep “why”, committing to a goal, and making a SMART plan, one of the key reasons our goals don’t get achieved is because we don’t have an accountability system.
Accountability is key.
So, this time around, ask your partner or a friend to help you achieve your goal; create a set of benchmarks that would excite you to run towards, and help keep you accountable; hire a coach; post it on social media and ask that community to keep you honest and accountable.
Most importantly, decide and take action.
And then check in with me in December!
I am rooting for you to make the most of this year!
The best is yet to come!