When I hear “New Year, New Me” I actually want to throw up.
Yes, the beginning of a new year seems like a great time to reinvent yourself, because why not – society is telling you that’s what everyone else is doing, but in actuality – any time of the year is a time to reinvent yourself. Why wait until January? Seems like a bit of a cop-out if you ask me; it’s an easy excuse to put things off and say “I’m starting in January." Do you feel like you need permission from the giant ball dropping in Times Square to start living in the way that you want right now? Time is going to continue to pass no matter how you choose to spend it, so you may as well spend it actively doing something to better your self, situation or your life, right? So here it is, I, Aubrey, give you permission to begin right now.
In my humble opinion, resolutions set us up to fail. We end up plucking some unspecific goal out of our minds and decide to announce it on social media as if that is going to be enough. It's a start, but it is not enough. These do it for the 'gram goals are usually not specific enough, not measurable enough, perhaps not attainable or even realistic enough, and lack a timeline. Yes, I just referenced S.M.A.R.T. goalsetting – a very important concept, folks. Have you thought about how you are going to achieve this goal? What steps you need to take to get there, how long you want it to take, etc.?
Let's use “I’m going to buy a car” as an example.
Okay, cool bro, you're going to buy a car. But when do you want to buy it? Tomorrow, next year, honestly - could you be any less specific? What color do you want it to be, what year/model/make, etc. How are you going to get it? Can you afford to buy a car? Do you even have a license? Are you just hoping one appears in your driveway? You’re going to have to do some research, make a plan, and take action to get that ish done!
If you're not entirely following, keep reading. Here's a brief summary of
how to set goals properly, in a manner that is more likely going to support your success:
State your resolution aka the end goal
Work backwards! Make a list of what you need to do to get to that goal.
Break it down. Take step #2 and now make a list for each of those things. Repeat this until you have a very thorough breakdown for every step along the way.
Make a timeline. Take all of the things from step #3 and start writing them down on a calendar (this keeps you accountable, and also helps you to stay on track). *Don’t be a hero here, don’t try and do something that will clearly take 6 months to be successful and cram it into 10 weeks; also – don’t give yourself enough time to get lazy about it – if you know it could be done in about 4 weeks, do not, I repeat, do not give yourself 3 months*
Celebrate each step along the way! Don’t be shy about it. It always feels good to accomplish something – so go ahead and recognize that
Understand success isn’t always linear. There will probably be setbacks, there will definitely be challenging times, but keep going. Just do your best. Progress does not have to be perfect!
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Maybe you read step #2 and were like ‘WTF does this mean, I have no idea what I’m doing.” That’s totally normal! Reach out for help – maybe a friend, maybe a professional, maybe Google.
Don’t let society tell you when to become an active participant in your own life. Go out there on January 1st or August 45th – who freaking cares when – and do something different because it’s important to you and you actually want it. And if you don’t have a clue where to start – visit www.aubreybabcock.com and schedule a free consultation