Are you excited for 2020?
I am.
They say it’s a year of clarity, a year of focus.
So like you, I’m looking forward to experiencing great things.
But remember last year?
When you set those goals, visions, aspirations, and resolutions?
When you set out to do something but failed to follow through?
If this isn’t you, then I applaud you. And I applaud you even more for wanting to continue gaining clarity and confidence in your life and business even if you’re already able to get things done.
But if this sounds like you, and you want to finally be able to do what you said you’d do – to see your life transform dramatically, or even just enough to get you out of where you don’t want to be, then let me tell you about this one major pitfall that many of us make when pursuing goals and resolutions.
Let’s backtrack to what happens every December –
That time of the year when you finally say “NEXT year I’ll be Slimmer! Richer! Healthier!” or whatever it is that you desire to be.
So you list down everything on paper, or like most everyone – just on your mind.
And there are 5 or 6 things on that list that you want to do as part of your New Year’s resolution.
And then, January happens.
Happy New Year!
Fireworks…
Raising your wine glass (I used to do this every year)..
Thanking God for the previous year…
Declaring good things..
Sending and replying to social media greetings…
Then.. Fast forward to February.
Did you even start doing anything?
Were you able to consistently follow through with your resolution for a month?
Did you hit the gym everyday?
Did you change your eating habits?
Wake up early?
How are the business plans coming along? Earn anything from that yet?
Hmmm…
So what happened?
Let me guess, you got overwhelmed.
Whether you burned out, or was hit by analysis paralysis, or the “I’ll do it tomorrow syndrome”, the result is the same – you didn’t follow through.
You stayed in your couch and snoozed that alarm clock again.
In other words.. You quit!
Or postponed it until March… the next year.
Why is that?
A lot of reasons, but one thing that I noticed is that sometimes we want to change so badly that we want to try and change everything all at once.
Like one day you’re one person then the next day you’re completely different as if you’re someone else. You’ve transformed as fast as Clark Kent can turn into Superman inside a telephone booth.
But did you know that humans aren’t designed for abrupt change?
Do you know what the number one cause of death worldwide is?
Heart attacks.
And what triggers it? Stress.
And what is stress? – Something you get when you subject yourself to constant abrupt change.
Do it often and do it all at once.. well.. just think of how much stress that would be.
Sometimes we want something so bad we get into things without really understanding the repercussions of what we’re doing.
Say this word out loud – “Slow is fast”
Not in your mind. Out loud.
Say it – “Slow is fast”.
Say it again – “Slow is fast”.
Long term change requires gradual development.
Think of your goals as muscles.
Muscles don’t develop overnight. It breaks, heals, grows slowly, and the cycle continues.
Abrupt change will be painful. Which is fine.
But too many abrupt changes will make you immobile.
Anything you do abruptly will require more pain but it won’t mean you’ll develop your muscles faster.
That’s why when you start doing vigorous American Ninja-like activities after a year of dormant no-exercise lifestyle, you’ll end up sore for days. Heck, you might even injure yourself and do some permanent damage.
I’m not saying you can’t aim for quick changes. Or quit bad habits cold-turkey.
You can.
But avoid doing it all at once.
Focus on one aspect of your life at a time and stick with it.
For example, if you want to live a healthy life, start with activities that’s real simple to do like hydrating yourself with at least 8 glasses of water everyday, or not sleeping past 11PM.
These are real easy which require very little effort.
Once you get that going after a few days, you can start focusing on one thing that’s a bit more challenging like doing a 10-minute exercise everyday. Sure, make it 5 if 10 minutes sounds like a chore.
Before, I wanted to do 100 burpees a day but getting past 15 reps was already a challenge.
So I started with 30 a day, then 50, then 75, until my body was already ready for 100 burpees.
You don’t need to suddenly become vegetarian, run marathons, do 3-hour daily workouts, and do pilates religiously right at once.
You can get there gradually.
For your business, how about committing to writing one small piece of content a day?Or reaching out to 5 people daily?
Sounds challenging or time consuming? Make it 2 people daily. Whatever number that looks easy that will keep you started.
For your mindset positivity development – how about greeting yourself a good morning in the bathroom mirror. Oh, and don’t forget to smile at yourself.
Small easy gestures like this helps in developing your positive soul.
Don’t even practice riding the huge waves yet when you don’t even know how to stand on a surfboard.
Many people stop without even starting because after realising what they’re supposed to do, they’re already tired and stressed just thinking about it, and then they begin convincing themselves that they just can’t do it.
That wave will eat you alive.
So make the activities that lead to your goal look as simple as you can.
That’s will how you set yourself up to win.
And sooner or later, you will.
– KDL