Resetting in the New Year

The New Year feels like a restart for many people because a new calendar year seems like a clean slate. Mentally, it gives people the sense they can start over in whatever they are doing since the new year presents new opportunities and a fresh mindset. There is momentum in the positive belief and hope of a New Year so how can we best use the new year mindset to reset and start again in a way that helps us have the kind of year that we want? Here are some ideas:

Assess Last Year

Don’t forget to start by celebrating your wins from the previous year. There are always things to be proud of so take the time to appreciate what you accomplished and how far you have come. Anything from personal growth and achieving individual goals to career success are a great reason to celebrate. Sharing your achievements with people who will be happy for you is another great way to celebrate success. Whatever you do, don’t skip or do this step too quickly because hard work and progress deserve respect. Part of the reason celebrating success is so important is because it allows you to be candid with yourself about where you didn’t achieve what you wanted.

There may be areas where you didn’t reach your goals so don’t be afraid to be honest with yourself about that. Honesty is the first step towards doing better next year so take inventory around where you fell short and where you want to continue growing. 

Finally, taking some time to figure out why you didn’t achieve the goals you wanted to accomplish is important. This will allow you to grow and learn so that if you set the same goal next year you have a greater chance of achieving it. In some cases, you may realize that you didn’t achieve some of your goals because your priorities changed mid-year and something that was important to you at the beginning of the year was no longer something you wanted to focus on. In those cases, it’s ok to say you didn’t achieve something and it’s no longer a goal you have. Other times, you may still want to work on something so think about whether you want to put it on your list of goals for next year. If it’s something you still want to work on, taking the time to understand what you can do better this year to achieve it will make it easier to accomplish this time around.

Decide What you Want this Year

Once you have taken inventory of the last year, decide what is most important to you this year. Having one category of growth that is your top priority can help you focus. By knowing where you want to focus the most energy on growth this year, you can set realistic goals that you are more likely to accomplish. Realistic goals are more important than lofty ones because it’s through setting realistic goals and achieving them consistently that you build confidence. 

One way to do this is to create categories and choose 1-2 goals for each category. Categories could include: career, health, relationships, parenting, finances and anything else that is important to you. Once you do that, decide the priority of the categories so that if you have time constraints and have to make tradeoffs, you are always prioritizing the goals that are most important to you. That increases the likelihood you will achieve your most important aspirations for the year.

Believe in Yourself

One of my favorite things to see is that a new year restores a sense of confidence in people in their ability to achieve something new. Use that momentum from the new year to your advantage and tell yourself that you can achieve anything. See yourself achieving your goals and letting go of limiting beliefs that hold you back.

One exercise that helps clients is to write down all their worries and limiting beliefs around achieving a certain goal. Don’t filter anything, just write everything down. When you are done and you read them, having them written on paper makes it easier to see that they aren’t the truth. When you separate yourself from those limiting beliefs, it’s easier to distance yourself from them and not let them get in the way of achieving your goals.

Find an Accountability Partner

Not only does getting someone else involved in your goals help you achieve them, it allows others to support you, believe in you and hold you to your dreams when things get tough. Sharing your goals is a way to make sure you don’t set goals and forget about them. Sometimes you can even enlist other people who have the same goals to work with you on them. For example, a lot of people who are training for a marathon for the first time join a group not only for support and tips but also for the accountability to keep up the training, especially when it gets challenging. Whether it’s just one person or an entire community, involving others in the goals you set for yourself will bolster your efforts.

Get Started

Once you have created a vision for your year, don’t forget to get started. One step every day can make a huge difference after 365 days so start small and keep building on your success.

If you aren’t sure where to begin, get a book, listen to podcasts, get a mentor or sign up for an online course. Take the first step and the next step will become clear after that.

Reset in the new year using these tips and make 2025 your best year yet!