I'm not a big fan of New Year's resolutions. But I do like what they represent. It's our chance for a do-over, to have a better year than the one we just finished. They are rooted in some good intentions...it's just that most resolutions are dropped before the end of January. We all like to think that simply because we made a decision that all of a sudden we will magically become these new people that stick to a new plan. What we really need is a resolution reset.
My husband and I have always had an annual review in December. We talk about what worked well & what we'd like to see for the coming year. It has served us well, as we then have targets that we get to weigh our decisions against. "Will this move us closer to or further from our goal?"
So I started doing this same process for my business. I've talked about how I knew I didn't want to print & ship products to customers, that I'd rather spend my time designing and teaching. So when a customer asks if I'm able to print & ship a set of cards to them- my gut reaction is, "sure, I can easily do that!" But if I pause & look to my bigger intention of not spending my time shipping products, a better response would be to offer a few places where they can get the cards printed with the same quality without me having to be the one to complete it. The people pleaser in me has needed to learn this lesson more times than I can count. But each time I say yes to someone to be helpful, it takes me away from my bigger picture.
I try to evaluate this same way during my annual reflection + gratitude sessions (there's a blog post about that here) that help me set some better new year intentions. I start by evaluating where things got stuck, where they didn't go as planned, where I was surprised by results, where I'd like to see improvement, etc. I then think through some small changes that will have a big impact. I try not to over-complicate things or make big sweeping change plans that won't last.
This is my simple reflection about where I'd like to be this coming year: I've been longing for a more rural property where I can have a greenhouse & chickens & an art studio. I really want to improve my health. And I want better balance between work, rest, & play. In my business, I want to grow the membership, maintain product sales, create more inspired art, & license more designs.
Once I've determined the areas I need to make some improvements, I need to take stock of what's holding me back with each step. For example, I recognize that if I woke up earlier, I could spend some dedicated morning time on fitness. Yet, I know myself well enough that I know I won't stick to that. I enjoy low stress mornings where I sip cocoa or tea and have some good thinking & meditation time. And adding something like a workout to my mornings would mess up the whole flow. So I am choosing to create more realistic plans to my intentions. When I need a break from work, I may do 15-20 min of yoga in the middle of my morning. When I hit the afternoon slump, that's a great time for a walk or to lift weights. But I'm not trying to overwhelm myself, so I set goals of doing those 2-3 times a week. Will I be able to run a marathon with this plan, nope, not even close. But will I be better off than I am currently at the end of the year? Absolutely. And it has the added benefit that since it's a manageable goal, I get to be proud of myself while I'm on the journey. One of the things I added in last year was doing pemf, red light, & vibration plates while I do my morning meditation. It was a simple way to work on healing while I was already sitting still.
“I promise that next year will not be the same as this year.” -Anthony T. Hincks
If you haven't had luck with New Year's resolutions, maybe try reframing your thinking. Just think about what you really liked about your life this past year that you want to do more of, or what you really didn't like that you might want to brainstorm some simple tweaks to make things even 10% better. The only constant is change. So what if you were intentional to make positive changes, to bring more joy to your days?
Warmest regards,
P.S. If you need help with finding Focus in your business & creating an editable annual plan, be sure to check out our Focus workbook, here. Disclaimer, it is free inside the membership for now so that may be a more economical choice.
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