Years ago I was talking to someone who was training to run a marathon. But as he got deeper into training, he found himself more and more exhausted, not from running, but from trying to keep up with all the other things he still had in his life.
Simply put, there wasn’t enough room in her life for her new goal of running a marathon. Y all the other hobbies, obligations, and responsibilities you were already involved in.
It’s great to have new goals that you want to accomplish that will create positive change in your life. But if you’re like most people, you already have a good part of your 24-hour day scheduled. This is one of the main reasons I see people fail in their professional New Year’s resolution every year: they want to add something new without leaving anything behind.
This is the simple key to achieving your resolution, especially if it is a specific race. I recommend going as far as making a verbatim list of those tasks, duties, and obligations that you must give up or let go of in order to achieve your new goal.
But when I say “let go,” that doesn’t mean giving up completely. Here are three first steps to help you make room for new goals without irresponsibly walking away from his professional responsibilities.
1. Relinquish “Control/Territory”
What areas of work could you delegate? It may be that others lead the meetings and prepare for them. It might even be that with some simple training, someone else can take on one of his lesser responsibilities to set him free. It’s hard to let someone else take care of your “baby,” but it’s essential to make room for new goals.
Give up the “fear”
Are you afraid of failing, driven to perfection in everything you do? Chances are, you’re wasting a lot of time reworking and overthinking your work, making it take longer to complete a task that others can do much faster. It is also very common for fear to manifest itself as procrastination, knowing that moving forward requires a large investment of time and energy. Be honest with yourself about your fears and don’t be afraid to ask someone else for help.
Abandon “Habits/Traditions”
“But we’ve always done it this way!” This is a thought that we have all had at some point in our career. We all get caught up in our own comforts, and it is in the basic nature of many people to resist change. Ask yourself why you are resisting change and give yourself permission to open up to new ways of doing things; these new ways can save you a lot of time and open the door to new goals.
Now that you’ve made your list, figure out how much new time you have. This little process may be just what your professional New Year’s Resolution needed to survive!
