Hello everyone!!! 👋🏻👋🏻👋🏻

🎉 Happy New Year!! 🎉

I hope you enjoyed the holiday season and had time to connect with family and friends. And that you’re pumped for the year ahead! I know I am. 😁

I know that the calendar turning another page is really a bit of an arbitrary construct, but I measure my life in years. It is a natural transition period for me. The time between Christmas and New Year’s is usually a bit of a quieter period for me, and it provides me the perfect opportunity to go inwards and reflect. I love the feeling of endless possibility.

What can I say? I’m an optimist at heart.

This week, I’ll discuss how to set yourself up for success *before* you set goals. If you start without having a stable foundation to build on, you’ll likely set the wrong goals. And that just sets you up for lots of disappointment.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll dive deeper into how to establish that solid foundation from which you can build an amazing career that fires you up. 🔥

Let’s go!

Tim

New Year’s Truth: Foundation Before Goals

For how long have you been saying you’re going to change your job, that you’re going to get something better? Or that you’re finally going to start that business you’ve been dreaming of, but never actually worked towards? How long have you told yourself that it’s time to take care of your health?

If you’re like most people, it’s probably been for far too long.

But we’re transitioning to a new year, and you can start fresh. Sure, you can set new goals any time you choose to, but there is something that just feels right about setting them for the new year. It is a symbolic fresh start which can provide a bit of a psychological boost, which is why so many people set goals during this season. There is some cultural momentum around setting goals for the new year, and people can relate to your desire to improve yourself. This is a shared practice that people understand, so it seems less weird.

So you set yourself a resolution, a goal for 2024. This year, you are finally going to do it!

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s unlikely. 😢😢 Debbie Downer, I know.

Blindly setting resolutions won’t be enough for significant life changes. I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but most people don’t achieve goals that were set like that. Usually they fail miserably.

Research shows that about a whopping 80% of New Year’s resolutions are forgotten by February, with only about 9% of people sticking to them all year long.

Not good odds.

What makes you think you’re one of the lucky few that’ll beat those odds? Are you *really* that much better than everyone else?

But here’s the thing; if you don’t set goals that define where you’re trying to go, there’s no way in hell you’re going to get there.

So what gives? There’s an obvious tension here. What are you supposed to do? 😬

First, relax. Take a deep breath. 🧘🏼

That it’s a new year, so the time to set goals is rather arbitrary. You know you can set new goals anytime you choose to. Every moment of each day is an opportunity to make different choices that will move you towards an outcome you desire. Don’t worry about having goals set by a specific date. Instead, focus on setting goals that make sense for you and what you want.

The hardest part is knowing what you want. 🤔

You think you want a promotion, or a new job. Or you think you want to drop 20 pounds and exercise more. Maybe you think you want to write a book.

These are things that almost everyone thinks they want, and that’s where it all falls apart. It’s too obvious and too generic. It’s all too simple. And as a result, you’re not likely to achieve these things.

You need to step back. Before you go committing to major changes in your life or career, you need to invest first. You need to build a solid foundation, one that will enable you to make better decisions, decisions that align with your deepest values. Decisions that will move you towards what you truly want, way down deep in your subconscious, rather than the superficial shit that society tells you that you should want.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll explore the details about what it means to build this foundation. The key elements of this foundation are:

Health.
Emotional support systems.
Self-awareness & knowledge.
Financial stability & plan.
Mindset.

You should only set goals for yourself *after* you’ve achieved a somewhat solid foundation in each of these key elements. Otherwise, you’ll be setting poor goals and making poor decisions. You’ll head down a path that may be right for someone but isn’t right for you.

And that’s why you won’t achieve your goals. Because deep down, you’ll know they aren’t the right goals for you. By setting goals that aren’t right for you, you’re doing long-term damage to yourself, because you’re establishing your identity as someone incapable of achieving goals.

That’s really not a good identity to have.

Don’t worry if you’ve already set goals for 2024. Take a step back and work on your foundation. Once you’ve got that stable, re-evaluate those goals with a clear mind. That’s your starting point.

Next week we’ll dive into the first foundational element, which is “Health”. Starting with a sound foundation of health is crucial, as setting goals when fatigued or unwell can be counter-productive, as you may end up heading in the wrong direction.

Quotation that I have been pondering

This weeks’ quote come from James Clear, author of the incredible book Atomic Habits.

“It doesn’t make sense to continue wanting something if you’re not willing to do what it takes to get it. If you don’t want to live the lifestyle, then release yourself from the desire. To crave the result but not the process, is to guarantee disappointment.”

This is one of the biggest reasons people don’t achieve their goals. They think they want the result, not realizing that getting the result means they must go through the slog of work that it takes to accomplish it.

Losing weight means you’ll need to exercise and eat better. Publishing a book will require you to sit at a keyboard for many hours, trying to wrestle ideas into a logical structure.

When deciding what goals you’d like to set, rather than imagining the outcome, imagine the process. Pick goals you’ll whose required processes you’ll enjoy and you’ll have better results.

Journal Prompt

You’ve probably had some experience in setting goals previously. If you’ve been relatively successful in achieving your goals in the past, reflect on what worked for you. Why were you able to be successful where so many people come up short? Conversely, if you struggled to meet your goals, what were the key factors that prevented you from achieving them?

Note: when jotting down ideas, resist the temptation to note that it was because of a lack of time. There’s never a lack of time to do what is truly important. If you’re unwilling to acknowledge that it’s not a lack of time that’s the real problem, you’re going to struggle.

How might you apply what you’ve observed?