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Dear friends,
I’m writing to you over winter break, looking out at the snowy Sierra landscape. I hope when you’re reading this you feel recharged and ready for 2022. As you may know, I don’t agree with the “New Year, New You” mentality. I like the person you are, and I hope you do too. At the same time, I endorse wanting to learn and grow over time. Setting goals is critical for my personal growth, but when I fall short, I can succumb to unhelpful self-criticism. I want to offer you a different way to think about past and future goals.
Yesterday was our first day of snowboarding for the season. As I made my way down the slope, I had a revelation. It struck me that my body actually felt . . . OK. All day, I was able to keep up with my family. We aren’t the first out or the last back, and I mostly stick to the blues these days. Enjoying a mellow downhill day was a vast improvement compared to the end of 2020, when I had to stop early every day because I was physically exhausted. Even though I didn’t meet my fitness goal for 2021, I did get a positive result from all those early-morning workouts- the stamina to enjoy our winter activities.
This example applies to professional goals too. Maybe your goal was to give four research talks, and you only had two chances this past year. Did you notice feeling more comfortable with public speaking or handling the Q and A more confidently? Even if you didn’t meet your goal per se, I would bet you did get positive results in whatever area you resolved to work on.
I noticed another effect of my modest snowboarding success. Beforehand, I had been discouraged about not achieving my 2021 fitness goals. I felt like I had failed, and I was ruminating about how to start over. Experiencing the small victory of riding all day gave me a burst of much-needed motivation. I realized I was partway to my unmet goal already. Focusing on an incremental positive result can keep you going.
As you set your 2022 goals, remember this: Everything is three times harder than you want it to be. The reason resolutions are discouraging is because we forget how hard it is to accomplish new things. We always think things will go smoothly. They won’t, and that doesn’t mean you should give up, or worse, not even start. Instead, notice your progress and let those small victories fuel your drive to reach your goals. It’s OK if it takes longer than you planned or hoped for. You got this!
As always, please send me your good news and stay in touch. Feel free to share the blog with anyone- you can sign up at the bottom of the page here. I hope to see all of you in person soon.
Happy 2022,
Urmimala