The new year is well underway, and for us in Asian cultures, the Lunar New Year was recently celebrated.
A new year often means new goals and new resolutions. Most people have high hopes of achieving great things when the new year begins. Some are personal goals; some are business related, and some people set goals in both categories. Unfortunately, for some 80% of people, they fail at reaching those goals. Why is that? Maybe for most, it’s time to pivot and evolve.
I, myself, am no stranger to having a huge list of goals and not making all of those goals a reality. So, this year, I have a bit of a different approach. I’ve analyzed what has held me back from achieving those goals that I missed.
Small Steps
This year, I am choosing to limit my goals and my tasks in order to make them attainable. To be honest, I felt kind of burned out at times last year. I put so much on my plate, so much pressure on myself to do so many things, and I pretty much overwhelmed myself with too much to do. I realized that it’s of no use to myself to load a ridiculous number of tasks and goals on my plate at once because it’s not only overwhelming, but it ends up making me feel like I have so much to do and don’t know where to start. So, you know what happens? Sometimes I end up not starting because I feel overwhelmed. This year, I want to work by taking on one task at a time. It’s as simple as that. I don’t want to bite off more than I can chew, and I realized that by accomplishing things one by one, they add up to a lot of successes.
Mindset
Mindset is huge. Sometimes we are overcome by our fears. We fear failure, but we also can fear success. I admit that I suffer from fear of the “what ifs”. And due to those what ifs, my brain is sometimes set to inaction. I’m working on overcoming those by acknowledging that it’s OK to fail and make mistakes – if we learn from them. I am choosing to battle those fears by knowing that I am enough and that I cannot please everyone. No one can. For example, not everyone likes the same type of music, clothing or food. We are all different and have different tastes. That doesn’t mean that just because I don’t like something, it’s actually bad. It’s just not my taste.
For more thoughts on the power of mindset, you can read my blog post on this subject by clicking here.
Reminders
Hey, I’m a middle-aged woman. My memory isn’t what it used to be. Sigh. I’m pretty sure that most people of a certain age can relate. To help keep me on track, I have started to set reminders for myself in different ways, such as writing things down in my notebook or noting them in my phone. I’m also setting timers/alarms on my phone to remind me to do certain things. These little tricks will help me accomplish the tasks that I need to do, and they will also help me build the habits that I’m looking for. We all KNOW what we need to do, but getting those things done is another story. Thoughts are one thing, but concrete actions are another.
Are you familiar with the Duolingo app? I’m using it to learn Spanish. As of writing this blog, I have a streak of about 550 days. How have I maintained that streak? One of the reasons is that I have a whole bunch of reminders set up to ensure that I do at least one lesson per day. Those reminders really work. Go set your reminders and get those things done!
Patience
Most people are not patient. They know what they want to achieve or obtain, but lack the patience to get there. You know how they say Rome was not built in a day, and that it’s a marathon and not a race? Well, those sayings are so true. In many industries such as voice over and sales, both of which I work in, you need patience to achieve success. You need to develop skills, knowledge and relationships. None of those are going to happen overnight. Taking the time to develop one’s self is imperative to achieving success. The biggest mistake people make is to quit. I’m not saying that everyone can do anything or become whatever they want. For instance, in voice acting, I do believe that one needs a certain amount of innate talent, and that it’s not for everyone. But even that talent needs to be developed, and you need time to do it. So, be patient with yourself. Give yourself permission to be a student – to learn and develop. Forget about becoming an overnight success; instead, be patient with your path to success.
Accountability
This is huge. I truly believe that you can achieve great things with the help of others to hold you accountable to yourself. Accountability groups are really popular in the voiceover world. Not only do we give each other support, help and ideas, we also challenge each other to keep up with those goals and tasks. We are also there to help reframe any negative mindsets that come up.
One new thing that I recently tried is sitting down virtually with a partner and silently working with that person. During this set time, we’re working on completely different things. We both had these tasks that we had been delaying and delaying, and by sitting down together at the same time, we both got so much done. It’s such a simple yet effect way of checking off one more box on our to-do-lists.
A Recommendation
I love listening to podcasts and recently discovered a real gem. I highly recommend the Mel Robbins podcast. Mel gives solid and actionable advice on so many levels. If you feel yourself struggling, this podcast may help. And if you simply want to further develop yourself personally and professionally, this can be a great tool.
Gratitude
One final note is about the practice of gratitude. I have so much to be grateful for, including having a voice and a medium to share my thoughts with you. Also, I definitely really appreciate you as a reader. Keeping a positive mindset filled with gratitude is so important to me, and I truly believe that there are so many benefits in doing so.
I will leave you here with my best wishes to you for the rest of the year!! Thanks for reading!!