The New Year is almost here and social media is buzzing with conversation about the challenges of 2020 and the hope of 2021.
The chatter about New Year’s resolutions has also begun. We are assessing our goals, prepping our vision boards, and ready to move forward. But what about the goals and aspirations of 2020 that were interrupted? Do those follow us into 2021, or are they forever overshadowed by the pandemic, political chaos, and racial unrest?
My hope is that your dreams and goals of 2020 continued to bloom despite the disruptions, but if not, you don’t have to let them go. You can still achieve them.
It’s not too late to revisit your plans to lose weight, eat healthier, mend a troubled relationship, level up your skills, build up your bank account, and give birth to the other promises you made to yourself. Those commitments to expanding your life, career and relationships, don’t have to fall victim to the challenges you have faced. They can still rise and become a reality, even if the process extends into 2021.
So, before you go and create a new list of resolutions for 2021, evaluate and refresh the mission you had for 2020.
What goals are still worthy of completion? Are those goals still realistic for your current lifestyle?
What 2020 has taught me, is that life transitions will sometimes take precedence over your goals. But, your goals can be flexible and with some tweaks, applicable to your current challenges and needed changes. Let me give you an example;
I had already planned to focus on my health goals in 2020. I wanted to lose a few pounds, eat less processed foods, and move from vegetarian to a plant focused vegan lifestyle. So when the pandemic entered the scene, my health goals were disrupted. Due to transitions at work, socially, and in the community, my stress levels began to increase, and my focus needed to shift.
I didn’t ditch my health goals. I adjusted them.
My health focus shifted to wearing a mask, social distancing, taking my vitamins, boosting my immune system, and managing my stress. Now that this year is coming to a close, I have resumed the initial health focused goals of 2020, and even added a few.
The lesson I learned is that goals are meant to help your life, not stress it.
If your goal mindset is so rigid, that you can’t flex for the uncertainties of life, the harm may outshine the helpfulness.
This week, before the new year, consider refreshing your 2020 goals and invite them to transition with you into 2021.
Here are three things to consider as you reflect and refresh:
1 | Continuation is not a dirty word. It’s okay to still be in process. Evaluate what you have done so far, and proceed from there. No shame, no blame…just progress.
2 | Prioritize your goals. What ideas are most important to recharge right now? Knowing what is most essential to you, in this season, is key. Evaluate the layers of your life and what targets you want to hit. Design a path to get there…and execute.
3 | Break down your goals into bite sized pieces. Start planning how you will make baby steps toward completing your goals. Make that phone call, send that email, write a paragraph of that blog post, read a chapter, or remove one distraction. If 30-minutes of action is not doable, break it up into 10-minute segments. Find a palatable way to start and finish pieces of your goal.
Lastly, continue to protect your peace as you prepare to welcome a new year and renewed opportunities to thrive in being you.
Come back tomorrow and listen to the Me Myself and HER podcast version of this topic.
Wishing you continued wellness,
