“And now let us welcome the new year full of things that have never been.”
I love the optimism that this Rilke quote evokes. When Dec. 31 rolls around, I am ready to say goodbye to the old year and embrace the promise the new year offers.
The question is, how do I take advantage of the opportunities that a new beginning presents to make meaningful change? Over the years I have explored a variety of approaches. One thing that hasn’t worked for me is writing resolutions. Apparently, I am not alone. Research shows that for the vast majority of people’s New Year’s resolutions simply don’t work. A 2023 Forbes Health poll found that just 8% of people surveyed said their resolutions lasted a month. Only 1% reported that they lasted through the year.
So, what does work? Well, here are a couple of ideas I use and suggest clients try. Write a success letter to your future self. In early January, I begin to flesh out my goals, hopes and dreams for the coming year. When I have an idea in mind of what I want to achieve, I write a letter and date it Dec. 31 outlining the changes that I made, success I achieved and growth I experienced. I tuck a copy in the back of my calendar, put the original in a self-addressed sealed envelope and give it to a friend to mail to me in late December. While I have yet to achieve everything I hoped for, I never fail to be happily surprised by my progress when the letter arrives.
What else works? Naming my year which I have done for the past 20 years. My colleague Denise Kaku offers a three-hour workshop that provides the creative space to visualize your year, name it and design a collage to support it. I post my vision board on the refrigerator to remind myself of what I want to manifest. Last year, I named my year Joyful Dachshunds and Destinations. A month later my husband and I adopted Daphne, a 10-week-old miniature dachshund who has accompanied us on many excursions.
Need more motivation to make epic changes? Read Oliver Burkeman’s book, “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals.” Rather than offering strategies for squeezing more into your already tight schedule it is a handbook for making difficult choices between competing priorities. Four thousand weeks equates to approximately 80 years. Burkeman suggests that if we want to achieve the things that matter, we have to make tough decisions between A priorities and skip the B and C priorities.
Speaking of change and priorities, I have committed to cutting back my work schedule and that means shifting my column to a quarterly format with a focus on timeless career topics.
What do you want to do, change or prioritize this year? Start now. You are not too old (or too young), and it is not too late (or too early) to get started, if you wait you will be in the same place next year only a year older.
See you in March!
Mary Jeanne Vincent, career expert and strategist, has a coaching practice in Monterey. She may be reached at (831) 657-9151, mjv@careercoachmjv.com, or www.careercoachmonterey.com
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