New Years Resolution Setting in 2021
2020. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say WHAT A YEAR…
It’s been a tough year for everyone, from the natural disasters, political/geopolitical tensions to COVID-19, it hasn’t been easy. But I always like to take the view that the future can only get better and that means trying my best to set up myself for success in 2021.
I’ve built New Year resolutions each year and wanted to share some simple tips that’ve really helped me and others I know make the best out of the year ahead!
- Reflect on 2020. What was tough? What did you do well and didn’t do so well on? What did you learn? The challenges faced during this year can help you better understand yourself.
- What are your “Mt.Everest goals"? If you were given the opportunity to realize your dream life right now, what would it look like and what would you need to do in order to make it a reality?
- From #2, what can you do this year? I like to bucket my resolutions into three key areas: i) career and financial related, ii) relationships and family and iii) spiritual, hobbies and personal interests.
- Lastly, I try to set what I call Northstar metrics for each of the three areas, so by Dec 31, 2021, if I met those goals, my year would be a “success". Then I like to set quarterly and monthly goals for each, then further divide into smaller daily/weekly goals.
NOTE: Through many failed attempts, I’ve now found that it’s very important to both have ambitious longer term goals but also make sure you take the time to celebrate the small wins (i.e. exercising for 10 min) as well — they are just as important!
At the end of the day, the advice I’ve heard is always focus on competing against yourself, not others and if a week goes bad, don’t beat yourself up over it — find out what went wrong then improve for next week! Best of luck!
