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We have this thing where we feel like we will wake up on January 1 and suddenly be able to master a diet or know how to exercise properly or understand organization like a pro. But just like playing a musical instrument or learning a sport, unless you are a prodigy, there will be a learning curve. Don’t aim for perfection from day one. Take a bigger perspective and plan to reach your goal for this time next year.
Most of the goals we have involve seeing someone ahead of us on the road and thinking: “I wish I could dance, make pottery, write, like them.” As we get older we see other people doing things and we think, “I bet I could do that” and we think about how we would do it differently, maybe even better. Then we started working on it and found that it is not as easy as they made it sound. Often times, we give up at that point.
When I was a teenager, I thought that if I didn’t do something right in a few tries, I just didn’t have a gift for it and needed to keep exploring until I found that thing I was magically gifted with. teacher immediately.
People like Mozart are so weird. Most of us will find something that we are passionate about and that drives us to practice the trade regardless of talent. And the more we practice, the more likely we are to appear talented. People will see the achievement, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, there has been a lot of work, learning, time, patience, frustration, and failure.
This applies to playing the violin, writing a novel, or learning to be an accountant. It also applies to diet, home repairs, cooking more meals at home, being a better parent, and many of our other New Years resolutions. You can commit to learning from day one, and I usually suggest that clients dedicate a few hours a week to a goal, divided however they want, but noted on the calendar and kept as an appointment.
If you need inspiration, you can find amazing videos online of people committing to a goal and working on it daily or weekly. When starting out, they are usually quite terrible and fail miserably on their first few attempts. Then they slowly start to improve and you find yourself cheering them on, knowing how good it feels to start walking towards your own goals.
As you analyze your goals for 2018, think long-term and create a plan. Then make sure the goals are achievable. Without judging yourself, answer honestly: Do you have everything you need to get there? Are the goals realistic? Are you willing to do what it takes to get there? If so, get them on the calendar. If you put it off, you may need to consider different goals or take a different approach.
Remember to refine and adjust as you go. Things change as you learn more. For example, I have written several books in various genres. At the beginning of last year, I set myself the challenge of writing a novel. My goal was to finish it and send it to the editor before the end of the year. And I finished it, but it wasn’t ready for the editor. I came across a quote in the fall that said, “Your first draft is just you telling the story to yourself.” That was a first for me, but it really put things in perspective. And it changed my expectations.
We are not successful because we are prodigies. We are successful because we are predisposed to practice our passions. Passion may be born within us, but it is practice that makes us competent.