Start NOW, to Accomplish Your Most Successful 2023 Goals
With less than 90 days left in 2022, the habits that support your 2023 goals need to begin now.
It might seem a little early to decide on your 2023 goals or resolutions, but if they require you to do daily tasks or habits that are not part of your current routine, Now is Exactly the time to think about what those habits might be and begin to add them into your current routine.
Difference Between Goals and Resolutions
A resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. A goal is a desired result within a person’s ambition or effort.
I read that most New Year’s resolutions have been abandoned by January 21st to mid-February. I also read that a whopping 8% of people that make resolutions actually complete them.
For two years now, I have made goals instead of resolutions. I also break my yearly goals into quarterly goals (which can then be broken down further).
Goals are a more focused and personal approach than resolutions are, which also makes them seem more doable and something you actually want to accomplish.
However, whether you make goals, resolutions, or both, and you want to be successful at them, then you need to create habits that support those goals or resolutions.
Habits
A habit is defined as something we do without much forethought. They take anywhere from 21–66 days to become part of our routines. With new goals or resolutions, you will more than likely have a list of new habits needed to support you in achieving those goals. We have less than 90 days (83 at the time of publication) left in the year. If you do the math, the number of habits we could add into our routines from today to December 31st is anywhere from 4 to 1.25 (to be exact), so now is the time to start!
What to do
First, we need to think about the goals or resolutions we want to make in January. This is probably the hardest part because we are 90 days away, so we need to allow ourselves to think about the next year and who we want to be and the things we will desire next year. Do you want to improve your health and exercise more or eat healthier? Do you want to start your own business or side-hustle? Do you want to learn a new skill? Or maybe you want to save some money?
One suggestion I have is to break your goals or resolutions up into quarterly goals. Breaking them up into goals you want to hit every 3 months starts with a plan, which will help you in hitting the yearly goal. A plan is a huge difference between a resolution and a goal, which is one reason goals tend to be more successful. When planning your yearly and quarterly goals, be specific with your goals; give them an exact number to reach, a time frame, and be realistic with them. Breaking it up into quarters involves 3 month metrics to hit that will add up to your whole goal by December.
For example, if you want to save $4,000 by the end of the year, that breaks up into a goal of $1,000 per quarter. So, every 3 months you will want to hit that, and if you want to break it down further, it would be $333 saved per month and about $10 put aside every day. You would then want to think about spending habits you could work on, like cooking more at home or using an exercise app on your phone and canceling your gym membership to reduce costs.
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
No matter what your goals may be, there will undoubtedly be some new habits that you will need to implement in order to be a success at achieving your goals.
Second, make a list of the habits that will help you achieve your New Year’s resolutions or goals in 2023. Think about the person who is already successful at that thing. What do they do that supports their success in that pursuit?
Third, what habit is the easiest that you can add to the routine you already have? According to James Clear, a new habit is picked up best when it takes 2 minutes or less to do. If a habit takes us too far out of our way, we are less likely to do it. But if we can make a 2-minute version of it or if we only need to do a couple extra steps (less than 2 minutes) to get started on it, then there is a greater chance of it becoming a habit.
“Building habits in the present helps you to do more of what you want in the future.” -James Clear
When choosing the habits you will begin now, consider starting the ones that are more related to your first quarter goals. Think, can you create habits in the first quarter of the year if you want to learn something in the second or third quarter?
We are more successful in habit building when we learn one new habit at a time. Remember, we only have 83 days until January 1st, and that is a max of 1.25–4 habits learned. We tend to be really ambitious about our New Year’s goals, but thinking about them and breaking them into habits we need to do Now will allow us to be more realistic in our expectations and successful at our goals.
Final Words
Take some time this weekend and think about your goals as they relate to relationships, finances, business & career, health & fitness, spirituality, and personal development that you want to work on next year. Creating a plan and starting your new habits now will start you off on January 1st with the right tools to be successful with your goals in 2023.
This is Part 1 of a series on creating your most successful new year possible. Look out for part 2 coming out next week by following me here.
