New Beginnings

When I used to work at a health club, the busiest time period was January and September. During that time, we used to get the most amount of signups, and the health club was bursting with new people. As a newbie, I remember asking the General Manager why that was the case.

Now, I get why.

As humans, we like to have a fresh start, chances to do things differently, to try again. Even when a method does not work well, we wait till the 'right' moment for a fresh start- January and September offer options for the widely recognized fresh start.

It's like having a restart button for our system.

It can even be viewed as a restart button for our lives.

January is the beginning of the year, which can be seen as a chance for new beginnings filled with new years resolutions and goals. I have personally spent so much of my January 1st, creating a list of goals to work on the following year. My list looked something like this:

1. Lose some weight, preferably 5-10 kg

2. Read 50 books

3. Learn to french braid

4. Travel to at least 2 new countries

I cannot remember a single year where my number 1 resolution was written down AND actually came true. I think the only time it came true was when I had not written it down as a new years resolution. Also, I still have yet to master the art of french braiding.

I have certainly obtained quite a lot of my goals, but the new year's resolutions, in particular, have been something that has never quite worked for me.

In the last few years, I learned why. Such yearly, long-term goals are so far-fetched for me with my tendency of thinking I have more time (a year felt like such a long time!) and I struggled with maintaining the progress.

I would try to make my resolutions happen, but I would not be able to keep up the efforts.

What I needed was a detailed planned, self-coaching, a big dose of self-compassion, the strength to pick myself up after setbacks and failures, and a bucket full of hope and faith.

Also, one of the most important things to remember when it comes to goal-setting is to make it doable.

We can sometimes set such high standards for ourselves. And when we don't live up to our own standards, we can view it as a failure and give up.

Rather than setting the bar too high, be kind and realistic with yourself.

It's okay to struggle.

It's okay to fail.

We are humans after all.

The most important thing is to try, to accept failures and setbacks as a pathway to success, and most importantly, to pick yourself up each time it does not work.

There is a time for everything under the sun. May this be the time for you to make some of your goals a reality.

I challenge you to make your goals realistic, doable and set time limits to execute them.

Reflective Questions

What are some goals you have yet to attain? What has held you back so far?

What are some things you want to achieve within the next two months?

How are you planning on achieving them? The more detailed your answer, the better it is.