23 Jan 2013
Belle

Your new year's resolution has failed. It doesn't mean you have.

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Day 23 of the new year. How's your resolution going?

I've got a pretty negative view of resolutions in general, since they seem to always be lofty, vague and difficult to stick to. And the ones that aren’t—well, those are just normal goals, so why call them resolutions?

I do think the new year is a great time to refocus your efforts on learning a new skill (like coding) or developing a new habit. Somehow, the change of beginning a new year makes us feel like life is starting again. It's like dyeing your hair—it seems like you've got a whole new head of locks for a little while, but soon enough you realise it's your same old hair with that same old cowlick in the front—it’s just a different colour.

So now the novelty of a new year is wearing off and you're realising you're actually the same person you were when you made those resolutions (only perhaps with less alcohol in your blood stream). But don't let that get you down! It only takes five minutes to adjust and refocus your efforts.

So today I propose this challenge:

Take five minutes of your day to think about the skill you want to learn or the habit you want to develop this year. Just choose one. Set yourself a nice, fat goal for the end of 2013—one that's clearly defined, so you can measure your progress against it.

Now write your goal on a Post-It note and stick it on your mirror (or something less cliché but as effective).

That's it. Five minutes to refocus your efforts towards one clear goal. Now the tricky part is doing something every day to move towards it. But that can wait until tomorrow.

For today, you're done. Go grab a cup of tea—you deserve it.

Belle.