The Possibilities!

Happy 2021! 🥳

The world is full of possibilities — today and every day — and, if we’re lucky, we just might have a bit more energy and motivation to accomplish our goals at this time of year.

This past weekend, I participated in Momentum 2021, an online summit with a number of concurrent 30-minute sessions covering topics including marketing, building relationships, mindfulness, productivity, personal finance, and writing.

The event was a wonderful way to spend the day, and I’m glad that I had the chance to attend.

For eight hours, I took notes — first by hand, then by typing — and tried to soak up all of the information that I was receiving. I don’t think I would want to attend school on this schedule (without scheduled breaks, stepping out for a moment means missing something), but it was a really cool way to pack a lot of valuable information into a single day.

…And I’m always stoked to spend a day learning, so I geeked out and went with it! 📚 (The test will be whether I can successfully apply any of the information I learned.)

I’m a fan of setting goals when the inspiration arrives rather than waiting for a particular date or occasion, though even I’m feeling extra motivated and inspired right now. Since I know the feeling won’t last, I’m riding the fickle wave of motivation and making quick decisions to put me outside of my comfort zone before I can talk myself out of doing things that I’m not 100% sure about.

I’ll let you know next week if this was a good idea or not. 😆

In all seriousness, understanding yourself can help you to change your behavior. Further, taking time to reflect on where you are and where you want to be is a worthwhile activity, regardless of when and how you choose to review and plan.

As long as you can shift from reviewing and planning into action, you’ll be on your way to making progress.

At this time of year, the concern for many is less about being stuck and more about taking on too much. When it comes to fitness (or other) resolutions, we sometimes take on more than we can reasonably sustain in light of our current lifestyle and habits.

As a fitness advocate, I’m delighted to see others making exercise a priority. As one who gets excited about all of the possibilities (oh, so many possibilities!) that we could choose when setting goals, I’m bummed to know that the number of people who stick with their resolutions for more than a few months is very low.

What has been your experience?

Do you set resolutions, and do you stick with them?

Are you overwhelmed or excited by the possibilities (or both)?

If you’ve struggled with keeping resolutions in the past, would it be more helpful to set goals or intentions for the year — or for a shorter period, such as a month, week, or day?

Finally, as you are planning for change (of any sort), are you able to connect where you are with your goal or, at least, with the next step toward your goal?

For example, maybe you want to walk a 5K this year.

If you want to walk a 5K and you haven’t exercised for three weeks, taking a 20-minute walk today could be a good way to get started.

If you want to walk a 5K and you have been walking three miles multiple times each week for years, you could check the box on this goal today…and you might want to set a more challenging goal!

Understanding your own tendencies as well as your current fitness level can help you to select goals that are appropriate for you. Ideally, you want goals that will challenge you without making you want to give up.

If you are feeling energized right now, celebrate the moment and the possibilities. Though the possibilities are endless, charting the path (at least at a big-picture level) to the right goals for you will serve as a compass as you move forward.