Rest assured that I am not asking you to sign up for the gym and then quit in a few weeks, external motivation can only get you so far.
According to Chinese philosophy, it is believed that your actions at the start of a new year impact your luck in the coming year.
I have totally embraced that line of thought, what do we have to lose? What am calling for is a gain in momentum, one that fills your positive vibes account and sets you up for the year.
Think about it like a saving account with disposable positivity that you can use during the year.
1. Switching to energy-giving activities
We have two main kinds of energy: energy boosters and energy drainers. We often think that the way to increase our energy is to do high-intensity sports.
While energetic movement is definitely one way to go, energy-producing activities are anything that makes you feel alive and motivated.
It is really simple: find out the things you love and do more of them.
It could be a cooking class, time for yourself, or any regenerative hobby. The key word here is replacement, we should not add more to our agenda but rather make a positive addition to our daily energy.
2. Ditch the energy vampires
Along the same vein, energy drainers can also be people. Other humans can either be a welcome addition to our lives or energy vampires.
The problem is we often have trouble getting rid of toxic people out of our lives because either they are family or we have a history with them. In some cases, they are also at the office. That is a trickier situation.
But whichever scenario that person is in, decide to cut that person out completely or spend less time with them. Don’t let them live rent-free in your head.
Think about how much lighter your 2023 will be just seeing or hearing less from them.
3. That thing you said you would do
I do a ritual every January as part of my previous year’s review where I complete the sentence:
That thing that I said I would do but did not….
And always one thing (or many things) up. We proclaim many things with good intentions and keep postponing them for the next year.
For when we have more time or more energy but it is just wishful thinking. At the beginning of the year, I take one of those things out of the ‘reported’ basket and just do it.
This year, it was starting videos and reels on my Instagram. I always wanted to do more video content but I kept deferring it for a few years. it was never a priority.
But that is the thing, it never will be a priority if I don’t make it.
4. Get a micro win
If your goals or aspirations are long-term (as they should be), then produce a small win.
Even when we set goals for the year and break them into smaller components, the first milestone is sometimes a few months away.
By creating micro wins, I find that my psyche feels like it is on a winning streak and starts the year on high morale. A small win could be anything that is quickly achievable but with a high reward.
It has to take you slightly out of your comfort zone, not so much that it feels inaccessible in the short term but hard enough that you feel the win.
For example, set yourself a 15k step walk when you usually do 10k or talk to one more person a day as part of your sales process. You can get creative with this and keep an eye out for any short-term challenge that tickles your fancy.
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
5. Clean your mindset
Don’t carry last year’s negativity into this year. Leave the baggage behind. If you make one commitment to yourself this year, be it to curate your thoughts with only uplifting ones.
No doubt the self-doubts and fear will find their way in. But we can choose to brush them away.
To start the year strong, we can choose to believe in ourselves. It is free. We can reframe our mindset and leave behind the negativity that will plague our future.
If we choose to see the new year as a clean slate full of robust affirmations for our own professional and personal goals.
…
Start the year by walking your talk. When you do what you say you will, you build discipline which leads to inner confidence. After all, you are mainly answerable to yourself.
Set yourself up for success so that when the next month you look back to today, you feel proud and driven.
When you have laid the groundwork for the following months, it gives you extra courage to fight the unforeseen circumstances that will arise during the year.
At the very least, you can think back to your small win and reproduce that winning feeling on demand all year round.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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You may also like these posts on The Good Men Project:
White Fragility: Talking to White People About Racism | Escape the “Act Like a Man” Box | The Lack of Gentle Platonic Touch in Men’s Lives is a Killer | What We Talk About When We Talk About Men |
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Photo credit: Ben White on Unsplash