Why Wait for the New Year to Crush Your Goals? Lies We Tell Ourselves

Sure, you could wait for New Year’s Day to implement your goals. 

But that’s five weeks away. 

If you’re ready to get after it, call out the lies that could be holding you back.

Lie #1: I need to first publicly announce my intention to meet my goal. 

Not necessarily.

 Research has shown that publicly announcing your plans to achieve a goal makes you LESS likely to meet the goal. 

Counterintuitive, huh? 

Even if the evidence showed that publicly blasting your intentions made you sure to win, don’t forget this: 

The pressure of wording a post perfectly, finding the gumption to post the announcement, and then responding to people’s responses . . . that can feel like a lot.

So what do we do? We tend to procrastinate the announcement, getting us stuck at the starting line. 

Lie #2: I’ll do it better if I begin in the new year.

Umm. What facts back that up? Is there proof that we’ll have more time, more focus, and more creativity than we do now?

This type of procrastination sounds honorable, after all, we want to produce high-quality work. (The rationalizing continues.) It would, of course, be better for my consumer if I were to hold off on beginning this. (Procrastination wins again.)

Lie #3: I have too much work to do now before pursuing that goal.

and

Lie #4: My family’s needs must always come first.

It’s possible that what we declare as urgent is not that urgent.

It is also possible that the work could be delegated.

And, it could be that honorable work is procrastination in disguise. 

“I absolutely must clean out the garage (a 7-hour chore) before I brainstorm my ideas for that project (a 30-minute task).”

“I must plan this week’s family meals (1-hour chore that  puts the family first) before I browse Google for health plans (may take little time and puts your personal health goal first).”

“I cannot spend money on my goal yet because I need to first budget my holiday spending and kids’ extracurricular costs, and that takes a lot of work.” 

Most times, we can prioritize our family’s needs while also meeting our own. It may require asking for help, having conversations, delegating, and establishing boundaries.

As always, this is not medical advice. Please see a medical professional.

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