Setting New Years Resolutions each year should be like making yourself a promise for a better life. Every December, we reflect on where the year has taken us and what we’ve achieved (or haven’t). And as the new year approaches, we decide (once again) what about our lives we’d like to change. We adjust the goals we didn’t meet last year and set new goals based on accomplishments. All of that sounds really inspiring, right? So how come so many of us fall short of our goals, even forgetting them by February? I want to propose a challenge. What if, this year, we tackle our goals monthly, keeping the New Year energy running? What if the first of each month is like a mini New Year celebration to reflect and set new goals? This is how we will make 2023 our best year yet, and achieve our goals.
But how can we carry the excitement of “January First” energy into every day of the year? How can we make the first of every month feel like an opportunity? One of the issues with New Years Resolutions is having too grand a scope to look at. 365 Days is a long period of time. So much can happen in a year that could change our lives. The first step is narrowing our scope significantly. Once we narrow the scope, we narrow the goal. You might have an overall goal for 2023, like buying a house. But as you narrow your time frame, you’ll automatically narrow the goal. This is also known as Causation Manifestation; last year’s New Year content for vision boarding. As both the time frame and goal narrow, everything becomes far less intimidating to achieve.
How Your Goal Setting May Be Failing You
Many thoughts, reflections, and conversations have contributed to this idea. Over the last several weeks, I’ve thought about it on my own, written about it, and had conversations with friends that have led me to believe this about success when it comes to achieving goals and living a life with intention. You cannot attempt to achieve a goal, nor will you achieve a goal, if you associate the action with resentment. Let me explain with a simple example. Let’s say you have a goal or New Years Resolution of waking up at 6 AM every day. And let’s say that you’ve built up excitement for the mornings; you’re going to workout, journal, or you’re simply just giving yourself extra time in the morning. So this excitement has easily gotten you through the first few days, right?
When the Excitement Dies Down
When the thrill of a new goal wheres out (which is typically quickly), we’re left with this dread and contempt for further fulfilling the goal. You told yourself 6 AM every day for THREE-HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FIVE days. That is an enormous period of time now. And now, you’re on day 6 of waking up early, and you’re forcing yourself to do the task, therefore resenting it. Without offering any leeway, you’ve given yourself a strict goal without narrowing the scope or timeframe. This type of goal-setting easily sets us up for failure. This isn’t to say we shouldn’t have strict discipline with our goals; it’s simply the approach that’s lacking support for our follow through.
Why Goal Setting Month-to-Month Will Change Your Life
So how do we create a supportive goal-setting mindset and approach for ourselves? By breaking down our goals month-to-month, we create a shorter period that offers greater success. If you tell yourself you’re going to wake up at 6 AM every day for a month or even a WEEK, it’s far easier to see how that will affect your life over that time. It’s easy to see how waking up at 6 AM next Tuesday, perhaps a day with a full calendar will benefit you; you can see it unfolding. Maybe you’re giving yourself extra time to prep for a meeting or morning zen time before your big day. But you don’t easily see the long-term benefits without having narrowed the scope. What are the benefits of waking up at 6 AM on day 234 of the year? Who knows?
A Smaller Time Frame Offers Greater Change
You may be wondering, but if I do this for twelve months, that’s the entire year, so what’s the difference? The difference isn’t in the long-term, but the success you can measure in the short term. The more success you see in a shorter period, the more motivation you create to continue making that change. This resolves the issue I mentioned earlier that many of us face: the excitement won’t die down because you see the short-term benefits. Therefore you’re easily inclined to continue achieving your goal or habit. As we build a habit week by week, we create excitement for fulfilling the habit. Therefore, we never feel resentment for completing it and only feel excitement as we see it unfold.
How to Train Yourself for Success
Accountability is most often what we’re all lacking when it comes to goals and resolutions. From the outside looking in, it’s easy to think that someone’s achieved so much because they live a well, habit-formed life. Time and time again, my friends have told me I make it look so easy to live intentionally. But I hit days at least once a week where I want nothing more than to be lazy. I’ve failed to establish more habits than I can count, which is why I’m also writing this blog for myself. The issue a lot of us face is the mindset of accountability. If you performing or not performing a habit has no impact on someone else, then what’s the point? Which is why we’re going to be each other’s accountability partners.
Over the next year, I’ll publish a post once every month to share with you, in complete honesty, how my habits are going. Each month will be a moment to restart or continue succeeding in my habits and goals. The comments will be open for you to share your progress, ask for advice, and join me on this journey. I’ll share my status updates periodically on social media, and you can join me in the challenge to change your life. And if you feel like you need an extra boost of motivation to begin, you can purchase my 30-Day Intentional Living Challenge or the La.Rue Intentional Living Course that will help you kick start your success on this journey.
I’m looking forward to sharing this year’s wellness journey with you. I can’t wait to hear about your success in making 2023 your best year. P.s. The podcast will resume 2/1, and this will be the first topic we dive into!
