What will keep you going in 2023?

A chat with a friend about the New Year and the age-old discussion about New Year's Resolutions led me to some thoughts that I thought I would share.....

How often do we make hollow New Year's Resolutions? Things like....getting fit....losing weight...changing career....spending more time with the family......travelling...... We have all done it, especially during a summer break only to have these plans pushed aside as life kicks back in and we get back to routine. Sound familiar?

I came across this quote from former American athlete & politician, Jim Ryun, the last American to hold world record for the mile run,

“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

At this time of year, we are usually relaxed and reflective, mostly because we have some time on our hands. Making a resolution or deciding to change is admirable but getting motivated is only the first step in a longer journey and the biggest killer of New Year's resolutions is time and commitment. So, let's look at what I mean about time.....

There are few things we can control in life and our time is one of them. As we finish our Christmas/ New Year break and head back into routine, we hit our first 'Resolution Killer' which is time. We get busy with life, we often say that 'I don't have time' because of work or family or a multitude of other things we do. The reality is we make the decision to allow these things to consume our time. You control your own time and where you allocate it, so what are you choosing to invest in? Sounds simplistic, but it's an important step to take the motivation and turn it into a habit

Let's say you want to get into shape. You start by getting up during your holidays and exercising, it's an easy decision as you have time on your hands, and you choose to allocate it to exercising as you are motivated. As you return to normal routine what happens? You start to allocate your time to other things, work, family, socialising. You begin to lose motivation and quickly the resolution dies. You need to invest your time in yourself and continue to allocate time to achieving your goal, this takes commitment. This is the important next step to move from motivated to forming a habit. Allocate the time, lock it in and stick to it, the commitment stage is hard, but soon it will become a habit and once you form a habit the need for motivation and commitment reduces and your path to your goal can become easier and more enjoyable

Applying the same thinking to your work can deliver benefits. If you are experienced or successful at what you do, but find yourself in a rut or stagnating, think about the basic things that got you to where you are. Invest time into the basic things and turn them into habits. They will likely seem boring or mundane, but these are the things that are important and delivered your success. Reestablishing them as habits will allow you to focus more on what you enjoy or the areas where you want to grow.....the fun stuff!

If you are early in your career, look for what the habits are of the experienced or successful people around you. Invest your time to identify the habits, talk to them, read about them, then focus on the path of making them your habits.

For me in 2023 I will be focussed on taking the motivation, applying the commitment and creating habits. My challenge to you for 2023 is to invest in yourself so that as we move into 2024 you're not making the same resolutions as this year that are doomed to die again