Clarity Shot #34
Happy New Year! 🎉🎉🎉
It’s still early days of Jan, so I’m guessing you’re either:
Excited about what you’re planning for 2023, riding the momentum and energy of new beginnings
A bit time-confused by so many free days in a row that set a different rhythm to your life, so days and experiences morph into each other (if so, let me reassure: if you see me in your inbox, it’s Wednesday!)
Maybe a bit dizzy from partying, or heavy after too much cake & prosecco, wondering if this year will really be different. Especially if you’re giving another shot to a goal you’ve tried (with limited success) before, you’re probably entertaining some self-doubt outbursts…
I am, too.
All of them 😉
So let’s start with the end in mind: what will your December-self thank you for starting now?
Mine will surely thank me for eating less sugar, moving my body more, and learning how to relax and calm my mind when I’m stressed.
The wish-list could be longer, but I know from hard-earned experience that long lists remain wishes, while short & focused attention increases the chances that, come December, I’ve really achieved what I intended to.
👉 So the first trick in my unofficial playbook of goal-setting (new year or otherwise…) is to… make sure that you really want it, and that you’re willing to put in the effort to make it come true.
And the best tactic I know for this, is to prioritise so ruthlessly, that you get to reject other worthy goals you’d really want.
In that choice, behind the pain of giving up aiming for other important goals, lies the motivation to give it your all to your chosen one… so you increase your chances of achieving it.
👉 Second trick: only focus on one goal at a time.
When you pick just one, you can give it your undivided attention. You can put all your efforts into making it real, without allowing anything else to distract you.
Yes, you heard me right: just one.
It builds on the ruthless prioritization from trick #1 😱😱😱
It also ensures that you don’t select goals because of others’ expectations, or the “shoulds” in your mind. Like: I should lose some weight but I don’t have any disposition to actually change my lifestyle, so it remains a should, instead of becoming a reality.
Let’s not waste our time with those.
Option 2: If you can’t pick just one, go for maximum 3, and plan your year in sprints. So at any one time, you’re working on just one goal.
For example, I have 3 big goals this year, so my year is structured in 3 sprints of 4 months. Ideally I’d plan it in sprints of 3 months, but things usually take longer than planned, so I’m adding an extra month, as buffer for all the unexpected diversions life might throw my way.
And… as much as I’d like to start working on all my 3 goals just now, I prioritize (again!!!) and pick just one, for Jan - April.
👉 Third trick: strategise in advance about what to do when adversity strikes.
Because it will strike.
Count on it.
Life happens in ways that will sometimes support, and sometimes derail your plans.
So the “in advance” part is really important.
(so important that I’m reiterating some of the ideas from previous newsletters, just to make sure you have them right in front of you, when you’re planning your goals for this year)
You increase your chances of responding in line with your values & priorities when you have a clear head and can choose without being emotionally hijacked, or in the middle of a personal mayhem.
Think about what could potentially derail you - and come up with a plan:
🔹 How will you sustain your focus on your goal when things gets rough?
🔹 When everything is against you, and all feels lost, how will you go on?
🔹 When you need to take a break, (maybe because you’re down with the flu and staying in bed is all you can reasonably do), how will you come back on track?
You see, these days, when we’re still in that new year energy, it’s easy to forget how efficiently life can mess up our plans. Most resolutions, however, get abandoned by Feb… so let’s do our best to ensure we move forward!
Advance planning for when adversity will strike… increases our chances of not giving up this time, so we can walk through December 2023 with a grateful attitude for the person who started this year committing to very few goals, kept moving forward and managed to sail through, when times got tough.
I’ll be cheering for you along the way, sending some more #ClarityShots your way, for inspiration & action
(in your inbox, if you subscribed here)
P.S. (bonus trick) have you scheduled joy 🥰 along the way?
Have you built, in your plans, moments to stop and celebrate your progress, often enough so you incorporate in yourself a sense of competence and achievement? If not, do that now.
Don’t focus on big milestones, but on small steps in the right direction. And if you’d like a chat on how to do that, you know where to find me 😉