Welcome to the new

Hope you had a peaceful and relaxing holiday season. You either? Well, here we are at the beginning of a new year (I’m chuckling as I write because that originally came out “eww year”).

That makes this the week when every other article you see is about resolutions, how they don’t stick, goal setting, how those goals have to be the right shape otherwise they won’t stick, planning and organizing, how a poorly thought out plan or substandard organization won’t stick.

That’s a lot of not sticking. So, what’s the point? After all, a new year starts every 365 days (or so), so what’s the big deal? Maybe it’s not a big deal after all.

If it’s not a big deal, maybe take the pressure off. Rather than focusing on what you “should do” think about what you have done and what the next logical step (or steps) might be. Nothing outlandish or excessive. And certainly not some ridiculously high number of goals/resolutions/foci.

In years past I have encouraged you to set goals, to make vision boards, to identify your resolutions. But not this year (I’m learning as we go, just like you). Instead, I’m going to suggest that you take a beat. Spend a moment reflecting on where you are – what you have learned, what you’re good at, what you still need to work on, what you know and what you don’t and how you might close that gap. In other words, just take a little time to consider what has gone before and what you can do next.

Why this new approach? It’s easy to get caught up in the details of all the shoulds of the beginning of the year. But getting caught up in those details also might derail you from taking the opportunity to skip pondering. What have been your successes, your stumbles, the holes you need to fill, the music you need to branch off into? It probably won’t take you a long time to give a thorough assessment of you – as you are now. Then you can decide what you might do next. One thing. No grand plan. No extended network of activities with untenable timelines. Just one thing.

You might be thinking, “Just one thing”!?! Well, that won’t take me long. What would I do next? I better make a plan for that.” (or something like that). But here’s the thing. Since this isn’t a big fancy goal setting/planning strategy – we can just keep repeating it. Think about the just one thing to do next and then do it. Lather – Rinse – Repeat.

I’ll admit – this takes a little getting used to. We’ve got lots of practice making big resolutions that we can’t (typically) execute. This might feel like traveling a little too light. But before you get too giddy, remember that it won’t be 365 days until you do it again – you might do it tomorrow (or next week, or Spring – whatever). When you’ve completed just one thing, then you can again take a beat, look around, and suss out what might be the next thing. And don’t sweat figuring it out. If you’re less experienced, ask your teacher. And if you don’t have a regular teacher, book a lesson with someone you admire for a coaching session.

Finally, don’t forget to write it down! What’s the point of figuring out the thing if you don’t have it on hand to refer to later? So tell me, when will you take a beat? If you’re willing, let me know what you’re next thing will be! If this is too off-putting or you need a little help focusing you can book with me – I love a challenge! Let me know in the comments!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *