The Truth About New Year's Resolutions

January is the time when many of us feel a renewed sense of urgency to set goals for the new year. It just feels like the right thing to do when starting out with a fresh slate of 365 days.

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Whatever the goal, we begin the year with excitement and anticipation, but many of us give up by March or earlier. We find ourselves unmotivated, uninterested in continuing, and ashamed we even tried in the first place.

Why does this happen? Were the goals not meaningful? Were they not obtainable?

I believe that part of the reason we become unmotivated is that we don’t take the time up front to clearly identify what truly matters to us. Goals that have true meaning and purpose will speak to our heart. These goals fill us with passion and drive. They are not casual goals but life driven goals.

Here’s the truth: you don’t need a new year to start working towards your goals. January 1st doesn’t make you magically the person you want to be any more than July 1st will. If you are truly driven, you can start working to obtain your goal no matter what time of the year it is.

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We feel renewed and excited at the start of the new year, but how will you keep going when the party’s over and things get tough? You’ll only be able to keep going if your goals truly matter to you.

Yes, use the new year to start. There’s nothing wrong with starting your goals in January. But remember that the change isn’t the new year – it’s you.

With that in mind, I recommend starting with these steps before creating your New Year's goals:

1. Reflect on the previous year. What were your successes? What lessons did you learn? What are you disappointed in? What areas of your life didn’t go as you planned and why?

   
   

2. Do some honest and possibly painful soul searching. What is it that you truly want to accomplish in this next year? Are you willing to make the commitment to achieve what is in your heart? Looking at yourself in the mirror isn’t easy, but it is life changing.

   
   

Once you have honestly answered these questions, you are ready to take purposeful steps toward a fulfilling future. If you don’t have action steps toward your goal, you’ve failed before you’ve even started. You must have a plan that makes your goal achievable.

Coaching can provide tools, strategies, and support to further define your goals with achievable action steps. It will help you overcome obstacles, stay focused, and turn your heart’s vision into reality. Benchmark steps can keep you feeling encouraged rather than frustrated that your goal isn’t happening overnight. Like anything worth waiting for, our biggest goals take time.

Whether it’s personal growth, career transformation, or navigating life’s transitions, I am here to help you stick to your goals and make this year your year of breakthroughs.

Let’s chart your course to success, together!

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