There’s a Chinese proverb that says…
“A year’s planning starts in spring. And a day’s planning starts in the morning.”
The beginning of the new year is the best time to plan your year. It doesn’t matter what you’ve gone through the previous year, it is all over now.
Right now, this moment is a fresh and brand-new beginning. You can start with a fresh mind, with fresh goals and plans.
So, what should you do to kickstart your new year strong? Well, I’ll share my 10 tips below…
1. Take inventory of where you are in life
You don’t have to rush and jump straight into making new goals. The first thing you want to do is to spend time and think about why you are where you are right now.
In other words, you want to take inventory of where you are right now in your life. What have you done and how did you get to this point in life?
Think about whether you are satisfied with your life. If your answer is yes, how can you continue and make it better this year? Or if your answer is no, think about what led you to where you are now.
Understanding why you are where you are in life gives you a bigger understanding of yourself. And this is essential if you want to make changes to your life.
Read: How to Review Your Life: 4 Great Methods to Evaluate Yourself
2. Identify what you should stop doing
That’s right, starting a new year strong is not just about implementing new things, it is also about finding out what is not working in your life, and then proceeding to make the decisions to get rid of it.
You see, if your new year goal is to lose weight and get back in shape, making it a habit to exercise will not work if you don’t get rid of your unhealthy eating habit.
You can exercise 30 minutes 3 times a week, but if you continue to overeat and stuff junk into your body, you will never lose the additional fat.
Hence, it is not always about addition, it is also about subtraction.
Many people think that if they want to succeed in life, all they need to do is to build more and better habits, develop better mindsets, etc.
But if you don’t get rid of bad habits and lousy mindsets, you will still be stuck where you are.
Like a sponge, if you want to soak in more water, you must first squeeze yourself and get rid of all the unwanted or unnecessary water.
Thus, identify what you should stop doing and all the bad habits or mindsets you should get rid of.
Read: How to Achieve More by Getting Rid of What’s Stopping You
3. Visualize how you want your new year to be like
Next, visualize what you want your new year to be like. This step is exciting because this is where you want to make your new year looks fantastic.
Spend time thinking about what you want to achieve this year. Remember, the more exciting the things that you want, the more likely you are going to achieve them.
Ask yourself…
- Do you want to change to a new car this year?
- Do you want to travel oversea with your family? Which country do you want to visit?
- How much do you want to earn or save this year?
- What new business, side hustle or new skills do you want to pursue?
- Do you want to buy your dream house by the sea?
Make it exciting. You want to make your dream exciting so that every time you think about it, you can’t wait to take action and make it a reality.
4. Set goals and create actionable plans
Next, turn your dreams into goals and then formulate actionable plans to achieve them.
This is the step that most people neglect. Most people only dream about what they want, they don’t sit down, write down their goals, and then write down all the steps they need to take to get there.
That’s why most people fail to achieve their dreams and goals. Never let this be you.
Remember this quote from Stephen Covey:
“Make time for planning. Wars are won in the general’s tent.”
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. Instead of a new year goal, I suggest you set a 90-day goal. This is because the annual goal is too far away and unpredictable. When a goal is a year away from now, it lacks urgency.
Therefore, set 90 days goals and formulate an actionable plan that will get you the results you want.
If you want to learn how to set empowering goals and create real results, join me in Goal Setting Formula.
5. Build a system to help you make progress
That’s right, setting goals is just the first step in turning what you want into reality. The next thing you want to do is to build a system to help you make progress. Allow me to explain.
Your goal can be to lose weight. But the system is your diet and excise. How often do you exercise? And what kind of diet plan should you stick to?
The same goes for every goal you set. If your goal is to write a book, the system is how you get the words written.
Think about a coach. A coach’s goal is to win the championship. And his system is how he identifies a talented team of players, helps them improve their skills, and the strategy he uses to help his team win the championship.
So, what is your system?
If you want to build a successful blog, your system is content creation and marketing of your blog. How often should you write and publish on your blog? What kind of content should you focus on? How are you going to market your blog and content so that more people know about them?
What you need to do then is to focus on the system, not the goal.
I suggest you read this article from James Clear to understand better about creating systems.
6. Improving yourself through relentless learning
There’s no way you can start a new year strong without committing to learning and improving yourself.
You see, if you don’t improve, you will be where you are again by the end of the year. You can only get to a new place when you upgrade and improve yourself.
You are where you are right now because of what you know. And in order to get to a new and better place, you must work on improving and making yourself someone better and stronger.
Think about playing games. If the character in the game remains at the same level, you will never improve and get better at beating stronger enemies.
So, to progress through the game, you must upgrade your character. Say, from level 3 to level 9. The higher your character’s level, the stronger enemies you can take on.
And it is the same in life. You must work on improving yourself. The better you are, the more problems you get to solve, and the more success you can create.
Thus, commit to constant-and-never-ending improvement. Invest at least 30 minutes to an hour of learning every day.
Read: 10 Practices How to Improve Yourself Every Day
7. Create a reliable support system
You cannot achieve great success if you are trying to do everything by yourself. No man is an island.
Trust me, throughout the year, in your journey, you will face many problems and defeats. And that is why you need support from others.
Hence, get yourself an accountability partner. It doesn’t matter who, just get someone to encourage and support you when you need it the most.
Plus, having an accountability partner keeps you on track. Here’s an interesting article from Observer.com about how having an accountability partner influences your success…
“The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) did a study on accountability and found that you have a 65% of completing a goal if you commit to someone. And if you have a specific accountability appointment with a person you’ve committed, you will increase your chance of success by up to 95%.”
See how powerful having an accountability partner is?
8. Build new habits that support your goals
If you want to start your new year strong, you must develop habits to support the goals and dreams you want to achieve throughout the year.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Ryun
It is exciting and highly motivating to begin the new year with everything fresh and new. But this excitement will not last forever. This is why you cannot rely on motivation throughout your journey, you need habits.
Just like this saying from John Maxwell:
“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
Habits are important because they are sustainable. They are what help you repeat what you do every day.
So, how do you get rid of bad habits and build new and better ones? Well, just read this book by James Clear, Atomic Habits:
9. Review and pivot
It is unlikely that you are going to succeed with just one attempt. You’re going to fail and face many obstacles in your journey. But, don’t look at problems as problems, instead, look at them as feedback.
This is why you want to constantly review your strategy and plan, and then pivot and create better and more successful results.
Just like when you launch a product, but it doesn’t work, you don’t give up. Instead, you learn from the feedback. Find out why the product doesn’t work, and then make improvements and launch it again.
You continue to do this until you get a great product that everyone wants. That’s how success is created.
Too many people fail because they give up the moment they face a problem or difficulty in their journey. They don’t learn from their feedback. They don’t pivot.
So, track and measure your progress. Find out if what you do will get you the results you desire. It doesn’t matter what goals you are trying to pursue, as long as you are tracking your progress, you can always pivot when you are not getting the results you want.
Read: How to Measure Your Progress to Effectively Achieve Your Goals
10. Enjoy the journey
And finally, to start a strong new year, don’t forget to have fun and enjoy.
Remember to be kind to yourself. And most important, don’t beat yourself up when things are not working out for you.
As I said, you will surely face many problems, defeats, and challenges throughout the year, but you must NOT be defeated. You must trust yourself, have faith, and continue to grow yourself to become someone better.
Things may not always go according to your plan, but that doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel and give in. Instead, learn to enjoy the challenges. Look at problems and failures as stepping stones that will make you someone better.
So, find fun in the journey and live with passion!