New year, new me, right? Today marks the start of many peoples new year resolutions, or big goals they want to start chasing over the next year. For me I think that’s bad advice. Goals like “get in shape” or “travel more” don’t really mean anything and can easily get set aside as your life autopilot takes over. No wonder why most resolutions get dropped by February. Why do you think you have to sign a bunch of contracts when you join a gym? They know how our default settings work and ensure you’re paying for a while regardless if you come in. In reality, they would appreciate it if you didn’t come in at all. Less of your sweat to mop up.
Instead I focus on two things, being consistent and trying to map out the next few steps in front of me.
Being consistent is what matters in anything you pursue in life. People overestimate what they can accomplish in the next few weeks but underestimate what they can accomplish in a year. Let’s change the resolutions we called out above to instead be more consistent. Instead of “get in shape” we can rephrase that as “exercise 30 min every day”, or “travel more” can be changed to “leave the country once a year” or “get out of my town once a quarter”. These are now measurable things that will keep you honest instead of loftier ones that are easier to sweep under the rug.
Having long term goals is another trap I try to avoid. People plan, and God laughs. Having it all figured out is a quick way to getting let down when things don’t exactly go as you planned. Instead I focus on the next 1-3 steps in all aspects of my life. I don’t plan to have 12 pack abs, but rather focus on doing core 3-5 times a week. I don’t plan to be some hot shot director or senior engineer at my job, but rather focus on shipping the next few features on the big projects I work on. I still maintain a vision of the long term aspects of the things I work on in my job, but know that those are subject to change as I actually start to build out the next 1-3 steps.
If you are someone who enjoys writing goals, then all power to you. To each their own. For me I have found being consistent in a few things can compound into something special. Why not try it yourself and see where it takes you in 2023.