New Year's Resolutions remain dichotomous, you are either for or against. They are framed as a new leaf and carry with them the belief that by setting them things will begin to change but, as January drags, these resolutions too often fizzle out and ultimately give New Years Resolutions a bad name.

“As the new year approaches — and our minds inevitably turn to resolutions — I’m reminded that most of us vastly overestimate what we can accomplish in a year, and wildly underestimate what we can achieve in a decade”, Rich Roll.

A quote that undoubtedly resonates with all those who read it, while at the same time raises questions around how to create and manage the homeostasis between both the big and the small term goals. We recently featured a blog around goal setting, and the practice around using the G.R.O.W model whereby goals are set with an understanding of their long-term nature and daily effort required. The intention of this blog is to blend the above mentioned methodology and quote around reframing your intentions to achieve your potential to ensure that you can make the most out of 2021.

Start with personal growth. Make a list of the 50 things you love to do, the things that make you feel alive, that you belong. Now go back through that list and identify the common words and themes, circle them. These passions, hobbies and sources of inspiration are the fundamentals to your existence, and the perfect starting place to identify how you can invest in your personal growth. By identifying that which you really love doing, make it a priority to find a way to grow that feeling, dedicate time within your work-life schedule for your personal growth. Take small risks, have faith, Thomas Jefferson famously said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done”.

It is with this mentality that we must approach our New Year’s Resolutions. By creating space within your life for small risks, you begin to stretch yourself and create confidence in your ability to not only just survive but to thrive within new environments and situations.

Work hard, daily. A term that is often thrown around in sporting environments is ‘money in the bank’, a phrase used to explain that every bit of training done is like putting a deposit in the bank. It is the most valuable form of currency, one that cannot be denied, the reward for sustained effort and dedication that equates to tangible confidence come game time.

Consider this when facing your New Year's Resolutions and the daily commitments that are required, accumulate credits and watch them clock up. Honour promises to yourself. Do it because you are worth it, set that as the label on your alarm. Set an extra alarm just to remind you. Remember the intention of this blog is to break down the stigma of New Year's Resolutions through effective goal setting that is underpinned by your personal growth. It starts and ends with you, and therefore there is nothing more important than honouring yourself.

2020 has been nothing but a whirlwind, and it is not yet over but you need not wait until December the 31st, begin with your personal growth list today, take time to understand how it is you want to invest in yourself and start to bring it into your daily experience so that it slowly but surely becomes the most important habit you have

Tom Bednall

Commercial Director