I don’t set my new year's resolutions in January, I set them in November.
Here are 10 reasons why I do this:
1. January has too much big change energy. January new year’s resolutions tend to be built on a fairy-tail of a life that you wish you had. Yes, anything is possible, but sometimes we get carried away with the possibilities and sometimes forget the basics of who we are as a person, what lights us up and what we actually want. We can also be so impatient and aggressive for change in January that this is reflected in the goals we set and we can lose some of things that are important and matter inadvertently.
Example: the thought of going back to a rigid job after the Christmas break makes you decide that you’re going to quit and look for a new job with more flexibility. Maybe you just needed to talk to your boss about how you could possible work more flexibly or change/reduce your hours.
2. November is close enough to the end of the year to almost know what you’ve achieved for the year, or at least know the trajectory you’re on. By the end of November we’re 92% of the way through the year and December can be such a busy month that unless you’re highly focused on your goals you may not have much traction.
3. November has more time to sit and think than January. This might be strange to some people, particularly those of you in the northern hemisphere, but here in the southern hemisphere November is a busy month but January is a VERY busy month. Kids are on school holidays and its mid-summer so every moment is crammed with play dates, beach trips and trying to hold down a job. February comes along with its own variety of back-to-school craziness and sometimes it’s March before you take a breath and have time to sit down and look at your goals. By then you may feel like it’s too late to be bothering as you’re almost ¼ of the way through the year, better luck next year.
4. November is closer to the normality of life. Your normal day to day rhythms are in full swing in November and they haven’t yet been significantly interrupted by the silly season. This provides you with a much better place to be able to assess how you are tracking to your goals and what is and isn’t working for you. If you’re looking back on the year in January, February or maybe even March it will be distorted by how the very end of the year, and the start of the new year made you feel.
5. Spring energy is a real thing. The days are longer and warmer and I feel like I have more energy, energy that can be put into reflection and goal setting. I feel more motivated to sit outside after dinner and reflect and find time to go through my goals, hopes and aspirations. The change in season also makes me quietly hopeful and optimistic whilst still grounded in reality. I feel that this is exactly the energy that you need to go into a goals review and planning with, you love what you have but you know you can have/be more and you’re striving for that.
6. Now or never. The timing will never be perfect. There will always be a million things in your schedule, your daughter’s gymnastics gala day, your son’s violin recital, your husband travelling for work and your work just piling up around you not to mention Christmas shopping. Sometimes we say to ourselves, in January it’ll be easier to find the time and hold out until then. January isn’t a magical month with no commitments and all the time and ease you need to do this properly. If you’re waiting for free space in your schedule for it to be your time to focus on what you want, you’ll never do it, your life and schedule will always be full.
7. You still have time. I know I’ve said that by the time November ends you’re 92% of the way through the year, but there’s also another way to look at it. Reviewing your goals in November can be very helpful as you still have a month or two (depending on when in November you review these) to take action. You may not be able to move mountains in the time left, but with the deadline of year end coming this can help to motivate and spark some of you into action to at least grab some low hanging fruit.
8. Full throttle in January. You may be one of these people that likes to just jump into things and then later realises that you probably should have planned more beforehand. Reviewing, resetting your goals and planning in November means that you know exactly what you’re aiming for when January 1st comes along. You can use all that new year’s energy for change to run hard at your goals and it will be amazing how quickly you will get some wins. These wins and the momentum you’re creating will set you up for a big year of change.
9. Celebrate the wins. I know I’m terrible at this, and you might be too. Once I’ve achieved something I check it off a list and then move onto the next thing that I want. I don’t sit in the moment, enjoy what I’ve achieved, marvel at the hard work, tenacity and courage that it took and be proud of myself. If you review and reset your goals in November this will allow you to have more time and space to stop and celebrate yourself. As you’re catching up with friends and family and celebrating the year that was, make sure you’re focusing on all the amazing things that you have achieved over the year. There is also an opportunity for you to share your successes with others, let them know how your year actually was and what you were able to achieve.
10. Thrive not Survive. Reviewing your goals, your dreams and hopes in November can put you in a more positive mindset leading into a very busy and stressful period. We sometimes go into this period with the hope to survive rather than thrive and if you do you are not only going to miss out on a lot of the joy it brings but also on the amazing steps you could have taken to achieve your goals. You’ll wake up in January and realise that you didn’t fully enjoy the season and that the inertia from not making any progress in the past few months means it feels harder to get traction now, even though you’d promised yourself it would be easier. Reviewing and re-setting your goals in November gives you a hit of motivation and excitement, which you might need at the end of the year to get you over the line.
If you need help defining or pivoting your dream life and goals or you need support and encouragement along the way to face challenges, please feel free to book in for a goals coaching session. I would love to help you!
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