I used to be a New Year resolution maker.
Back at the beginning of 2019, I posted that I wasn’t making any resolutions for 2019. I was 8+ months pregnant and knew that everything was about to change once I gave birth to Teddy. Well, I’m not making any resolutions again this year but this time for totally different reasons.
2020 was a hell of a year. I think that we can all admit that. On a macro level but also upending everyone’s day to day lives on a micro level as well.
I had five goals for 2020. I never shared them on here because some of them were quite personal but I had them written down on a slip of paper pinned to the bulletin board in our kitchen. At some point over the summer, I took that paper down and threw it away. It was so upsetting knowing that the big plans I’d made for the year weren’t going to happen (one of my resolutions was to host more often. Lol).
But my big goals and plans would have probably failed anyway because I didn’t create a framework around them.
Instead of New Year Resolutions, Do This Instead
Big goals don’t matter if you don’t have small actionable steps that will slowly lead you to them. I learned this from reading Atomic Habits by James Clear.
This is generally my problem. I didn’t take the time to plan out the systems that are required to meet my goals. James Clear writes, “forget about goals and focus on your system instead. You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems”. He makes the point that winners and losers both have the same goal, to be the winner.
So instead of big New Year Resolutions, start creating new systems.
This also helps create lasting change rather than overhauling everything for a week or a month only to slip back into old patterns again down the road. I’ve been there. Many times.
Instead, I’ve already been working on creating systems that will slowly but surely get me where I want to go. For example, I am making a point to eat green vegetables with every meal. It’s a small change but it’s a daily vote for who I want to be down the line.
And remember, you don’t need January 1st or Monday to start taking those baby steps. You just have to start.
xo – Ana Luiza
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your identity. This is why habits are crucial. They cast repeated votes for being a type of person.” James Clear
