Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all a year full of achievements, clarity, and most of all, peace. I think we can all agree that the last two years have been quite interesting and more challenging than usual. Nevertheless, we all strive to have a productive year, with goals and outcomes that we can measure and be proud of.
At the end of each year, most of us celebrate what we have accomplished and begin to plan for the upcoming year. One way to catapult yourself into the new year with determination and purpose is through New Year resolutions.
Personally, I am a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions, even though many people feel that they are pointless and destined to fail. I am here to challenge that negative way of thinking and ask: Why not? Why not use the momentum of celebrating what was to push forward to what can be an opportunity for change and growth?
I run my life based on energy and seasons, so it is very significant for me to reflect on the journey I traveled over the last year and to figure out the path to follow when moving forward. I have always found the beginning of the year to be an amazing opportunity to start something new, restart healthy habits, build a new business or even a new life. In fact, my entrepreneurial journey and healthy lifestyle habits began for me right after New Year’s Eve. Everything that I have accomplished both personally and professionally has been after a time of reflection in December where I journal, receive clarity, and set goals for the upcoming new year.
I feel that the issue is not so much about setting the goals, but in sticking to them. Accomplishing your goals has everything to do with your ability to move forward without quitting.
As David Goggins always says, “There is no expansion when you quit.” The point of goals isn’t so much that we achieve them exactly on the date that we set for them to be completed. Life often throws us curveballs, but we can pivot, work around those issues, and extend our deadlines. The important part is not the when, but rather why we want to accomplish these goals and then moving forward to accomplish them and not quitting.
The why is and always will be the most powerful force that gets us moving. We cannot rely on momentary desires, fleeting inspiration, or downright desperation to be the driving force toward our dreams. We simply need to know why we set our goals and allow this revelation to give us the reasons to accomplish what we desire.
How do we figure out our why? We do so by connecting with our spirit. While this may sound like just a lot of spiritual gibberish, the reality is that we can gain clarity through looking into ourselves and reflecting on the path that has brought us to our current place in life. Sometimes looking back on our life choices and circumstances is painful or uncomfortable, but it is necessary to see clearly where we have come from in order to make the changes that might be needed to accomplish our goals. There are immense numbers of books, motivational videos, courses, and seminars that can help you define your why. I find the best and easiest way to do it is by bringing gratitude to your present moment and asking yourself straight-forward questions like: Who am I? What do I want out of life? What do I want people to know me and remember me for? What are some experiences I want to enjoy in this lifetime?
These questions may seem basic, but they are essential to our existence. A question as simple as, “Who am I?” can initially make us feel frustrated and confused, because, more often than not, we might not even know the answer to it. The answer to this question has no relation to your name, your physical appearance, your legacy, the multiple hats you wear in this life, or your job skills. The answer to this question is reflected by who you truly are on the inside- who you see yourself as and what you feel is your purpose in life.
As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin so beautifully said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Sometimes, when our minds are too busy, or heart are heavy from heartbreaks and losses and our to-do list is miles long, we forget to smile freely, to dance, to enjoy the simple but essential things in life. We must disconnect from our daily tasks to connect with what is truly important. As uncomfortable as that may leave us, it will help us find the clear guidance to our why.
Having a clear why allows us to move with purpose and brings forth the right opportunities to make it happen. The why gives meaning to what we strive to accomplish and gives us courage to say no to actions, things, and people that no longer serve us anymore. When we do this we can gracefully walk with power and make a positive difference in this world.
To consider creating your New Year’s resolutions goal sheet, you can use this basic formula I created to list my goals at the end of each year which has served me tremendously well.
I call the formula “The 6 Fs of Intention.” We are complex human beings and addressing only one area of our life will make other parts of our life suffer, which is usually the main reasons why we tend to fail our New Year’s resolutions.
The 6 Fs of Intention are:
Fun — List some things that make you happy such as: traveling, learning to cook, exercising, or whatever other hobbies you may enjoy.
Funds — Create a list of how you plan to make money, save money, possibly build a business (if you’re the entrepreneurial type), or ideas to create cash flow avenues to fund your lifestyle, future, and legacy.
Freedom — List ways where you can create more freedom in your life—whether it is an investment fund where money works for you, having a savings account where you make monthly deposits, or living in a specific city or country that allows you to exercise your freedom as a human.
Feelings — Think of ways to make time and create a space to explore your feelings by journaling, working with a coach or psychologist to heal past traumas, blogging, becoming an author by writing a book, and so on.
Flexibility — List some fitness goals that strengthen your body and mind.
Form – Explore your spiritual connection with divinity with your physical form, through religion, spirituality, plant medicine, etc.
Focusing only on making money without addressing the other areas of our lives will cause us problems in the long run. Subsequently, working on our health without taking care of our responsibilities and bills is not good either. Working on ourselves as a whole puts us in the most optimal position to be the best versions of ourselves and make the impact we strive to make in the world.
New Year’s resolutions can be an amazing way to kickstart the year. If you are present and in tune with your why, you can use the momentum of leaving the past where it belongs and move forward with intention and purpose in the new year.
__ Joanne B., President of Latin America & Canada