New beginnings are meaningful to me. I love having the chance to reset and to put away the matters of the past with an eye toward the future. Making firm decisions and new commitments can be energizing and inspiring. That was then, we can say to ourselves. This is now. And though the dates we set around these decisions and commitments are pretty arbitrary, there’s something about a definite date that puts a metaphorical line in the sand. June 1, 19 blah-blah-blah was the day that I decided to stop smoking, one might say. Or, the day I turned 30, I made the decision to take control of my life and stop being self-destructive, another might say. Whatever it is, that first step – making the decision – turns on a switch and has the potential to send us in a different, better direction.
With this being the start of not only a new year, but a whole new decade, I’m really excited about the promises that the future holds. I’m looking forward to intentionally giving this decade of my life a different tone. I’m not on that “new year, new me . . . 20/20 clarity of vision” thing that folks are doing. I know that nothing changes until I do. I’m talking about real change – not just a declaration of the decision to change. I intend to make this year a really strong start. Ten years from now, I want to be able to look back and say that 2020 was the year that things really started to change for me. Quantum leap, amazing changes.
This year, I’m intentionally committing to less. I’m not doing my usual, which is to have 8-10 goals for the year. That hasn’t worked well in the past for me. I figure I better do something different if I want a different result.
My Word for the Year
That said, my word for the year is “Focus.” Focus. Focus. Focus. That’s a powerful word for me because I have a tendency to do a bunch of things, while failing to go as deeply into them (and being as successful in them) as I’d like. While I look forward to one day being a person who has multiple, reliable sources of income, I may have subscribed to that a bit too early in my entrepreneurial journey. I think I need to get a one or two things really, really right, then branch off into various other forms of income. I’ve come to terms with the fact that doing something really well takes time – and focus.
One of my favorite quotes from Warren Buffet is this: “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.” This makes a lot of sense to me; I think it is just easier said than done. That would explain why this action applies to the “really successful people” – that world-class level of people who have accomplished more than others.
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say ‘no’ to almost everything.”
~ Warren Buffet, Gagillionaire American Investor and Money Guy
With “focused” being my modus operandi, below are my specific goals.
FINANCIAL GOALS
(1) Double revenues generated through business.
With this, I’m referring to top-line gross income, not the income on which I pay personal taxes.
(2) Reduce my total debt balance by $46,000.
This amount is double the amount by which I reduced my debt in 2019. In order to make this happen, significant changes will have to occur. This is definitely a stretch goal for me. I’m inspired by it because I will have to do things differently in 2020 in order to make it happen.
PERSONAL GOAL
My personal goal is to lose 18 pounds, through a habit of exercise (beyond playing tennis) and a sustainable, balanced diet. That would put me at my goal weight of 120 lbs. It takes significant work and sacrifice for me to get to 120 lbs, but I did it at points in 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. My aim now is to do it by creating a lifestyle that allows me to maintain it.
The balanced nature of the diet is important to me because I want to implement changes that are long-lasting. I realize now that my restricted diet wasn’t something that I would be interested in maintaining as a lifestyle. When I was faced with figuring out how to function within the boundaries of both my restricted diet and restricted budget, I started to reconsider why I was continuing to operate under such restrictions. I wasn’t enjoying food anymore. Figuring out what to eat was giving me angst.
I want to be healthy, look great and feel great. But I want to do it in a way that I can: (1) not have a tense relationship with food, (2) maintain a reasonable budget, and (3) maintain balance (i.e. enjoy food sometimes).
FUN STUFF
Here are 2 “fun” desires that I’m putting out into the universe for 2020 (but not considering an active goal per se):
Go on 2 out-of-state trips with a guy (doesn’t have to be the same guy) that I truly enjoy being with and with whom I have a great romantic relationship.
Have at least 2 spa experiences (either solo or with someone).
Be able to not do any client work the last 2 weeks of the year.
I plan to be rigid, intentional and diligent. Decisions will need to be filtered through the lens of . . . will this help me get closer to my goals?
Don’t new beginnings get you fired up?
What are your plans for 2020?
How many goals do you have? (More importantly, have you written them down? I’m sure you’ve heard that they likelihood of accomplishing your goals is significantly higher if you capture them in writing. So, do it. :-))
What will you do differently so that you can actually achieve these goals?