Resolutions Aren't Just for the New Year

<p>Connect with me through your favorite platform: <a href='https://pods.link/aardvarkgirl'>https://pods.link/aardvarkgirl</a></p> <p>I'm on Clubhouse @aardvarkgirl</p> <p>--</p> <p>Because of everything that happened in 2020, I think a lot of people are putting a ton of pressure on 2021 to be better. But things don’t suddenly change overnight because the calendar says it’s a new year. So let’s not focus on the date so much as how we approach the current moment.</p> <p>I’m not against New Year's resolutions as a concept. I think it’s important to set goals, intentions, and make plans. But I think those activities should be ongoing throughout the year. What usually happens is people get these grand ideas of all the positive changes they’re going to make in their lives. They get excited. They talk about the great things they’re going to do. Things they’ve been putting off or haven’t been focused enough to accomplish. And everything is instantly going to change when the ball drops.</p> <p>But then what often happens, is they drop the ball. The resolutions weren’t realistic. Whatever the reason, that excitement that was building in December plummets, and they’re often left feeling worse about their situation than before. Why? Because they feel like they failed. They made a declaration and didn’t follow through. So now they not only have to deal with all those things they still want to change, but also an enhanced disappointment in themselves. It’s too much pressure, and it’s often not fair.</p> <p>We should always be striving to improve the way we run our businesses, and there is no blueprint for what the “right” way is. Success is very personal because we all want different things, so goals are very personal, too.</p> <p>The other tricky part about setting goals at the beginning of the year is that things change between January and December. As business owners, we always have to be prepared to pivot. To go in a completely different direction than what we initially expected.</p> <p>I think about my role as a