This time don’t make resolutions, make a Commitment
It’s that time of year when we make promises about the many things we’ll do next year.
We’ll schedule 2 hrs a week for workouts.
30 mins every Sunday for music practice.
And 15 mins daily learning a new language.
What could go wrong?
Well…
Feb turns out to be surprisingly busy 😔
And it turns out that 2 Sundays isn’t enough to play ‘Eye of the Tiger’ 😕
Our belly is stubbornly 1-pack despite planking all of Jan 😩
And being able to say “I like apples”, however fluently, doesn’t seem to make for a quality work conversation 🧐
One by one, our efforts flicker out. Like they do every year.
Damn.
But there is a better way — if you have patience.
Don’t try everything all at once. That’s a recipe for failure and disappointment.
But it’s pretty easy to do one thing properly.
So make a list of all the things you want to learn or achieve in life. Doesn’t have to be comprehensive right away. You can just maintain a running list.
Take up one thing each year and dedicate an hour a week to it.
That should be possible, no?
Despite work.
Despite travel.
Despite Netflix.
Despite your hectic social life.
Commit to the One Thing
In 10 years you’ll finish 10 new things vs starting 100 and finishing nothing.
Some you’ll eventually drop, because they weren’t as fulfilling or fun as you thought they would be. And that’s ok.
Some will develop into lifelong interests that you will incorporate into your day-to-day while taking up more One New Things each year.
Either way you will be richer for the experience.
Life is not like math. Sometimes 1 x 10 > 10 x 1
