4 Tips to Feel Great about 2024 by New Year’s Eve

We have 80 days left in 2024 - how do you want to think about it when we head into 2025? If you’re like most people who dropped their goals long ago, I want to remind you it’s not too late to try again. You can still make change. I am reminded of one of my favorite sayings:

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time to plant it is today”

-Chinese Proverb

Stop putting off what you want. Take action now. Any small step is progress. And take it consistently. Then you’ll create change.

James Clear speaks to this in his book, Atomic Habits:

"Two is twice as good as one, but one is infinitely better than zero. 

• One minute of making sales calls is infinitely better than zero minutes.
• One minute of meditation is infinitely better than zero minutes. 
• One minute of writing is infinitely better than zero minutes. 

Sure, it might be ideal to spend an hour doing these things, but one minute gets you in the game. Now you're learning. Now you're improving. Now results are possible. One doesn't seem like much, but it's something real. At zero, you're still dreaming."

So here are your four tips on how to feel proud of your progress by December 31st:

1. Start somewhere: Decide what change you want in the next 80 days and outline the steps you would need to take to achieve it. (Example goal: I want to get in better shape. Define that more specifically - Do you want strength? Endurance? Ability? Flexibility? Suppose you decide: Be able to do 50 sit ups)
2. Make it easy: Break those steps into bite size, specific bits of action.  (Example goal: 50 sit ups by Christmas means I’m going to just do 5 sit ups for the next 5 days and then build on that.) Make it easy by removing any friction. For example, put your yoga mat out the night before, set your alarm/a timer, put on fun music, and pre-decide when you’ll do it.
3. Anticipate and plan for obstacles: Traveling next week? Plan for it. Morning was a dumpster fire? Have a back up before bed. Don’t be shocked when challenges arise, anticipate them and move to plan b. Remember to aim for progress, not perfection.
4. Celebrate your progress: Track your progress visually (yep! Sticker chart!) where you’ll see it daily. Take it one day - one week - at a time and give yourself an end date to redecide if it is working. Feel the little hit of dopamine everytime you give yourself a star. It is a visual reminder that helps keep you going strong. 

There you go! That’s a super-abridged version of how to start a new habit. The key is to stop delaying it. Go from zero to 1% effort today. 

Here’s to an empowering next 80 days!