New Year’s Resolutions get a bad wrap.
It’s not their fault though.
It’s yours.
The truth is:
The beginning of the year is a perfect time for a reset.
You have to execute though.
Do it right and this year could be the best year you’ve ever had.
No guarantees.
Because, ya know… life.
🤷‍♂️
But you have more control over the odds than you may think.
All you have to do is:
Find the Sweet Spot
Few people are explicit enough in their goals.
I understand why.
Goal Setting is hard.
Doing it right requires time.
Moreover, it requires proportionate time.
âś… If you want to set effective goals for the day, you need a few minutes.
âś… If you want to set effective goals for the month, you need a few hours.
âś… If you want to set effective goals for the year, you need a few days.
I set daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly goals. Then I go 3, 10, 20 years out. I even have a plan for the next 30 years of my life. I use a lot of different methods and take a look from a lot of different angles.
You don’t have to do all of that (though I recommend it).
One of the biggest barriers to achieving what you want is your own lack of self awareness.
Setting goals helps you figure out what you truly want. By revisiting them, you learn about yourself over time.
This is an important part of creating a valuable life.
JBP explains it better than I do.
(The whole video is worth watching but you can skip to 3:45 and watch about 90 seconds to get the point.)
To a large degree, you have to get started on the path to see the path.
Tom Bilyeu says:
“Run 100 MPH at your goals.”
That way, you’ll learn whether or not you’re going the right direction more quickly.
It’s often the correction that leads to the breakthrough.
Yes, you will probably waste some time chasing the wrong things.
But what’s the alternative?
Life will choose your path for you.
There is no such thing as standing still. Either you move forward or the world leaves you behind. Inevitably, your targets will shift. Get used to adjusting your aim if you want to be a hunter of destiny.
That’s what I’ve done.
It’s taken a few iterations but I’m learning to…
Take the Madness Out of the Method
If you want to make more progress, track your progress.
There is nothing wrong with setting goals and not completing them.
For example, setting crappy New Year’s Resolutions (that you don’t keep) is a great first step.
The issue:
It’s only the first step.
Review might be the most important part of the Goal Setting process.
Failing your goals year after year is not progress. You have to take a look at what worked and didn’t work. Then adjust.
Otherwise, you just become a personal growth cliché:
“Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity.“
Basically, if you set goals for this year without looking at last year, you’re doing it wrong.
At least, you could be doing it better. And isn’t doing it better the point of New Year’s Resolutions?
This applies not only to your progress itself, but also the way you measure it.
Most people focus on the wrong thing.
They consider what they want but not who they must become. I learned from guys like Brian Johnson and Brendon Burchard that you need to turn your goals into Habits. Otherwise, they simply die as unfulfilled dreams.
For me, it started with lists of what I want. And there is still some of that. But now there is a lot more emphasis what actions I need to take to bring my desires to life.
My 2019 Goals were a perfect example. I set up quarterly breakdowns with new habits to implement.
But this year’s versions are a vast improvement.
First, I take stock of 2019’s wins and losses. I look at what lessons I learned and what lessons I want to learn. Then I look at objectives and actions for 2020.
I start taking a look in November.
From there, I plan the next quarter for relevant areas.
And of course, I still have more to do:
This setup is integrated with a new quarterly review process to make sure I stay on track as the year progresses.
It takes several weeks to get all this done. (That’s why my pens change.)
If you’re a normal person, this may look insane to you.
But for me, it helps to get me hype.
If not for that, I’d probably lean toward more practical advice. After all, there’s no real reason you should wait to change you life. If you’re doing something that is making your life worse, stop today. Otherwise, you’re just kidding yourself.
But when you set epic life goals and create gameplans for each year…
Well, that’s a different story.
As my 2020 Content Challenge indicates, doing things this way helps me address January like the start of a new season.
Like any season, you start undefeated. Being meticulous in your preparation increases your chances to string together daily, weekly, and monthly winning streaks.
Stay hungry and continue to improve season over season—you might just birth a dynasty.
Said another way:
Raise your standards year over year and you could make the new 20s the best decade of your life.
That’s what setting goals for a new year is all about.