New way to Approach New Years Resolutions

Are you one of those "New Year Resolution makers?" You know, the people who love setting goals at the beginning of the year. Or are you like me, and secretly resent having to come up with new ways to reinvent yourself?

I personally have every intention of keeping the goals I set at the beginning of the year, but two things get me every time.

❌ The grey skies and cold weather demotivate me.

❌ Unexpected things happen that derail my progress.

There is a trending concept on social media that could help. The October Theory encourages viewing the month of October as an introspection mile marker. At this point in the year, the trend outlined in the WSJ, encourages us to “create new habits and firmly establish routines ahead of the new year.” With 9 months behind us, we can take an honest look at the past to assess successes and harness that energy for the remaining 3 months of the year. Or we can take an honest look at the past and outline ways to improve on misses without the pressure of dooming the new year.  

Creating new habits and firmly establishing routines can be tricky, but reading this article made me think. Would I create and keep my new year resolutions longer if had a head start on them? The benefits to starting something new in October would:

💡 Give me time to test out new routines. This will enable me to find the right formula to make change work without the fear of failure or the invisible pressure “starting the year off right.”

💡 Give me space, apart from chaos of the holidays, to truly assess what I want to change, and how I want to change. Maybe I don’t want to lose weight or go on a diet, I just want to get up earlier and drink my coffee while it is still hot.

💡 Give me a personal "year end or performance review." Here I can appreciate the things I have personally accomplished and use those wins (similar to a professional performance review used in Corporate America) to boost my energy and confidence for the 3 months that lie ahead.

One thing is certain, being introspective helps us review goals and enact change.

So, take this moment to be honest with yourself:

❓ What new habit are you interested in starting next year that you can test, now?

❓ What personal successes have you had these past 9 months that you can build upon for YOUR Q4?