Happy New Year! At the outset of every new year, there is a much larger mainstream focus on New Year’s Resolutions, and it is met with mixed reactions. Some (mainly those who set them themselves) are enthusiastic, and have all of the confidence in the world that this will be their year, hence the often-crowded gyms in January! The cynics think that everyone who sets goals at the beginning of the year is setting themselves up for failure, and still others turn up their noses, saying that people should be trying to improve themselves all year round.
Since personal development is a huge focus for me personally (if it wasn’t, I probably wouldn’t have spent hours writing this booklet), I agree with the second half of that last sentence – that we should be working on being better every single day.
But I definitely am not one to judge those who do set new year’s resolutions!
This paradox reminds me a lot of Valentine’s Day… Many say that you should show your loved ones appreciation year-round, not just on a random day that has been commercialized by companies like Hallmark. I agree with that. But that doesn’t mean that having an extra day dedicated to love is a bad thing – it’s fun, and an excuse to take it to the next level!
Same thing with New Year’s Resolutions: yes, we should be doing what we can on a continual basis year round to improve ourselves, but what’s wrong with harnessing the power of a fresh start and collective energy around new beginnings?
Even if the cynics are right and the gyms will be back to their average population of hardcore gym rats by mid-February, that doesn’t mean that the workouts at the beginning of the year had no positive impact on those who did them! If we believe (and we do… or at least I do) in the Compound Effect* and that every time you do something good for yourself (like exercise) that there’s a benefit, then every day that a new year’s resolutions lasts is a great day – even if it’s not 365, or there are breaks in the middle when people lose steam!
Even just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, I harnessed this power.
I don’t necessarily have resolutions per se. I am working on using my goal setting guide to create a more structured plan than that for 2020 and beyond.
But when we got home last night, and I was tired and contemplating skipping some steps in my nighttime routine, I already TWICE said to myself “You are not going to start 2020 like this!”
So I brushed and flossed, when it was tempting to go straight to bed. I removed my makeup and applied facial oil instead of crashing.
Does that mean that I will follow all of my steps before bed every night of 2020 and beyond?
No, not likely.
But it does mean that last night, I did. And my face and teeth are better for it!
So, what do you think? Are you a resolution person? Or a goal person? Do you pick a word or theme for each year? I’d love to hear how you approach new years and new year’s resolutions!
xoxo,
Mandie
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P.S. Since personal development is my passion year-round, I have tons of resources for you!
Here is a link to this month’s edition of our online book club, so if you are hoping to be more confident in 2020, this may help!
This is a list of books as recommended by my past podcast guests. This is a list of podcasts, organized by topic!
This is my goal-setting guide!
*As an entrepreneur, it is important to have several streams of income. One of mine (if you can even call it a stream) is as an Amazon affiliate. I link to a lot of books and products available on that site, and if you use my links, I get a small commission from your purchases. Don’t worry, you pay the same price you normally would, but you also get the added bonus of knowing you helped me. Yay! Thank you for your support!
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