I did not make any new years resolutions for this year.. because I have explored all the ways to guarantee that you fail at your new years resolutions before……and as this post is going up close to the end of January chances are almost 80% of peoples new years resolutions will be done and dusted and consigned to failure pile (or put off for another “attempt” next year)
I have spent some time reflecting on last year and I guess I could sum it up in one word that I do like DISCOMBOBULATED.
The whole of last year was a time of confusion, feeling disoriented and out of sorts (if you want the summary then start with my xmas post and work your way backwards through the links. In all honesty it was the worst year since Samuel had his accident and created the reason I am here blogging. It was a year where I felt like I had lost connection with a lot of people and things that are important to me, where a lot of things became stagnant and ways of doing things that had worked for me in the past fell apart…
One thing is certain this year MUST be a lot different to last year. Some of the same stressors, like Samuel’s health will continue to decline and with that will come all the uncertainty associated with palliative care, but among all that uncertainty there has to be renewed hope and forward progress.
What do you do in the absence of new years resolutions?
Without new years resolutions there are only two options… keep doing what you have done… or doing something different.
New years resolutions are out… they fail. So what are the alternatives?
Three Words
For a couple of years I have watched a method used by Chris Brogan called Three Words, in which three words are chosen to provide a framework to create focus and decide goals throughout the year.
What are my three words for moving forward?
CONNECT: I will be putting much more effort into connecting up with people, making connections between different parts of my life and different things that I read.. asking a lot more questions about how is this connected to that.. what can I do to connect this thing or person with that thing or person.
RENEW: There are some long-term goals associated with the values that I hold that stagnated because of life’s circumstances, these projects, goals and connections need renewed effort and focus.
SYSTEMS: I focus on building systems to help me make sure that what ever connections, projects and goals are created or renewed are maintained and built on. Where ever possible I will automate repetitive items or build systemic reminders to keep things on track and make sure that I am as resilient as possible.
What about you?
Have your new years resolutions failed already? Looking to do something different why not try Chris Brogan’s approach… and if you do, what are your three words?
A few follow up posts will be published throughout the year to track progress.