Welcome to 2023
Congratulations and welcome to 2023. May this year be the best one yet.
We all know that the new year most often heralds excitement, soberness, reflection and (attempts at) renewed focus. This is the season for new year resolutions to start flying around. In all imaginable proportions and dimensions. It is good to make resolutions, it is also good to be faithful to them. What is not good is an unending cycle of the exact resolutions every year.
It is not as if all of those making these resolutions are just making them for the sake of making them. Some of them usually have the desire to be faithful to their resolutions. But they just find themselves right back where they were before the made the resolutions.
Resolutions range from individual to individual. Some wish to drop old habits while some want to pick up new ones. Some want to learn new skills, others want to get better at what they do. For some, it is to better position themselves for fresh opportunities.
Whatever it is that your own resolution may be, one thing that will ensure that you will not make this same resolution next year is your resolve and intentionality in staying true to them. Talking about resolve, it is not how hard you go at it from start that matters. Remember, you have the entire year (and maybe beyond), so you need to pace yourself. It is not a sprint, so you need to configure your mindset for a marathon. You don't hit your top speed at the start of a marathon, a steady pace keeps you going and ensures you have enough fuel to take you to the finish line.
No matter what it is you have set out before you this year, the key will be to start with what you have and where you are. After starting, stay consistent. One unit a day gives you 365 units at the end of the year. Two units a month gives you twenty four at the end of the year.
If your resolution is to be a better person, start where you are...indulge in a good habit. No matter how little or insignificant it may seem. Reach out and check on someone. Sow an act of kindness. Do some random good to a stranger...and see how much happiness it will give you. If your own resolution is to drop a few units on the scale, start small. It could be going up and down a small flight of stairs once or twice everyday. Stay active and eat healthy. If your own resolve is to do better financially, start by saving from the small you think you have. It could be saving a tiny amount everyday or every week. Whatever you do, once you start, keep it going in that little capacity. The power of compounding will astonish you at the end of the year.
Even if you are not certain yet what you want it to be, whenever you decide, keep in mind to stay consistent. It could be reading a page of a book a day. It could be learning a new language or a new skill. It could be mentoring someone and sharing from your wealth of knowledge and experience. Whenever it is you decide, make sure it makes you a better person and it touches someone around you for good.
Remember, it is not how hard or how fast you begin. It is how steady your pace is.