The new year is here! This time of the year usually brings about a lot of reflecting on the past year and pondering on the possibilities that await us in the new year. As much as we like to think of this as a new clean slate. It is not quite that! It may be day 1 of the year but all the challenges, habits, problems, and bills can follow us into the New Year. Some things we cannot control, and some things we have all the control over. We cannot control what follows us into the new year but we can control our mindset for the new year.
Let’s discuss 3 tips for making this year your best year yet.
- Establish your goals for the year.
- Uphold or develop positive habits.
- Recognize areas for personal growth.
Establish your goals for the year.
Setting goals is a given and a lot of people do this in the form of New Year resolutions, but to ensure you stay on track make sure your goals are specific and have a timeline attached to them. One way to track your progress throughout the year is to sit at the start of the year and define your goals, then break each goal down into sub-goals, sub-goals that once achieved bring you closer to the main goal. With a healthy combination of sub-goals, timelines, and main goals, 2024 can be your best year yet.
Before we move on, I want to urge you to have a faith goal. A goal that is not easily achievable. A goal that will stretch you. A goal that requires massive faith to achieve. You may or may not achieve this goal, but the process of working towards this goal can move the needle so much that it has a significant impact on your life.
Uphold or develop positive habits.
In 2021 I read a book called “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”. This book made a great impact on the way I think about creating habits and maintaining habits. If you developed some really good habits in 2023 that are adding value and having a positive impact on you then continue those habits. If there are certain habits that you need to stop and replace with better habits then do just that. Replace them! I highly recommend reading or listening to Atomic Habits as it can guide you on how to create positive habits. Each one of us can examine our lives to identify habits that either do not contribute positively or actively harm us. It is these habits that we want to replace in 2024. With any habit consistency will help create the habit and inconsistency and difficulty will help break a habit.
Recognize areas for personal growth.
Personal development is something we should all be doing. You are your greatest asset so you should be investing in your greatest asset. YOURSELF! Take some time to identify some areas of your life that need work. Once you have identified those areas, go on to make adjustments and work towards improving in those areas. For example [le, if you are not an organized person, you start doing the work to create a system to make yourself a more organized person. The best thing you can do is invest in becoming the best version of YOU! This can look many ways. It can be as simple as reading books, doing online courses to even returning to school. You can make an effort to read your bible more and apply the principles or you can learn a new skill or start a new hobby. Whatever you do make sure it is addressing an area of your life that requires growth.
I hope you take these tips and make this year your best year yet! To be honest, I don’t know what this new year holds for me, nor do I know what it holds for you. I do know that whatever comes your way if you do these three things you will be giving this year your best shot. All you can do is do your best and God will do the rest!
Happy New Year to everyone out there and I pray you have your best year yet!
The little Engineer that could! Ryian Williams, wears multiple hats as a husband, father, author, speaker, and engineer. Driven by his enthusiasm for coaching and uplifting men, he has embraced the lifelong mission of guiding men toward becoming the most authentic versions of themselves
Nice read… Informative
Inspiring article. I located a copy of the book Atomic Habits. I will give it a try!
Great tips!