Who’s already thinking about setting some new year’s resolutions? I see you ready to raise that hand. Let me ask you a question first.
Did you meet all of your goals for 2018?
Story Time.
Growing up in my house you didn’t throw away the ketchup bottle because it was “empty.” You pounded it against the table, shook it like a Shake Weight, and squeezed every last drop of that bad boy until you knew you had gotten your money’s worth. Maybe we were slightly obsessive about our ketchup, but the point is, you don’t just move on to a shiny new thing until you know you’ve gotten the most out of the one you have.
See where I’m going with this?
Why wait for the new year to start setting goals when you and I both know you have some real doozies from the start of this one that could still use a little work! (Maybe there are even a few new ones that have been tugging at your attention lately.) Even in the final days of the year, there is still time to get in your groove and rock out a few more things off your list or embrace the blank canvas that’s coming and get ahead before the new year!
December is like a firefly. If you blink, you might miss it.
You have to be organized in general when it comes to the end of the year and the holidays! If not, it disappears in the blink of an eye! Most of us are already well into gift shopping, celebration prepping, planning travel arrangements – there really is no better time to become little Miss Organization. Why not take advantage of this new found list maker you never knew was inside of you and crack away at some of those goals?
Take some time in the morning or on the weekend to look at your calendar. Find any special dates and times that you’ll need to prepare for, and then honestly look at the rest of the openings in your calendar for the year. Do you have Tuesday nights wide open? Maybe Sundays after church are your day of no commitments? Look at the resolutions you set this year and think of a few little things you could fit in during these times to get you closer to that goal.
Diamonds are just rocks that didn’t break under pressure.
That’s right – we’re all just a couple of rocks trying to make it in this life. And lady, I’m telling you, you’re a diamond in the rough! When the pressure is on, it’s amazing what we find ourselves suddenly capable of. The same things you would have taken three months to accomplish, you could probably get done in a few weeks or less when that time crunch is sneaking up on you in the background. I bet you can impress yourself with how much you can accomplish in such a short time frame. Don’t let yourself fall into the trap of knocking yourself down brick by brick and questioning why you didn’t focus sooner or get more accomplished earlier – that doesn’t do anything to change things!
We don’t want stress to feed our fire ever, but determination and focus instead. Let the first of January feel like a finish line and race your heart out.
You’re still going to crush those goals. You just didn’t know it.
Close your eyes and think of next year and all you want for your business and your life. Imagine all you can accomplish and grow through, and how you are going to get there. Now think about what a head start would do for you. The end of the year can do just that. Get rid of that “catch up” mentality and turn it into “get ahead” instead. Tackle little things and dream big for 2019!
If you’ve been hard on yourself when gauging your success meter for this year and telling yourself the year is almost over, it’s ok to remind yourself that you are in charge here. It really is 1000% how you choose to see it! (I’m not going to write the whole “glass half empty” thing, because I’m pretty sure you’re thinking it yourself.) Sometimes we just need a small shift in focus to realize what’s in front of us.
Stay focused, let things inspire you and use your time wisely – you never know what you can accomplish. I know you can do it!