If your email and social media feeds are like mine, they were jammed with encouragement and advice on how to make 2019 a great year. So many options and approaches can have the opposite effect, creating stress and frustration. I am always impressed with people who seem to have their stuff together and hit the ground running on January 1. I try to be one of them. Some years I do pretty well, some years not so much.

One week in, there’s a decent chance you fall into one of these categories to one degree or another:

• Made resolutions. Already in the toilet.
• Have goals in head. Didn’t write anything down.
• Tried somebody’s approach. It seemed to make sense, but not really feeling it.
• What’s the use? Resolutions are stupid. Life’s a train wreck.
• Overwhelmed. Can’t decide how to plan for the year.
• Haven’t decided and think it’s too late.
• Anxious, guilty, or otherwise nagged with negative feelings about lack of focus.

If that’s you, it’s OK. Sometimes social media lies – you are only seeing a curated image of people, not reality. Don’t let the filters fool you; we all suck sometimes. (Here’s a suggestion for a worthwhile goal – trade 30 minutes a day of Facebook time for 30 minutes of reading time…you’d be amazed…) Maybe Arthur Ashe’s perspective will help soothe you as it does me from time to time.

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

Little Things Add Up

If your mind explodes at the thought of some big master plan, can you start with just one thing? One thing you know would make a difference. One thing you really want. Imagine what a person who has accomplished that thing looks like. How do they act? What do they do from day to day? If you know anybody like that, ask them how they got there. Reverse engineer the goal and figure out what tiny steps you can take to eventually get there. Write it all down. Do those tiny, incremental things, one at a time. Track your progress. Celebrate your victories. Keep showing up. If you fall down…no, WHEN you fall down, re-read Arthur Ashe and get back up.

As with all things in life, the journey turns out to be more important than the achievement of a goal. The late Jim Rohn loved to remind his audiences, “Don’t choose a goal for what you will get. Choose a goal for what it will make of you.”

If you decide to make that reading for Facebook trade, you might want to pick up Atomic Habits by James Clear.  He does a nice job explaining how to work with yourself to develop systems instead of fighting with yourself.

A Few Ways to Focus

Maybe grandiose plans and detailed strategies just don’t work for you. If you tried the resolution thing and feel like a failure, you might find Brian Tracy’s email “Why New Year’s Resolutions are B.S.” interesting.

The whole idea is to move in a purposeful direction. I noticed more and more writers using specific words to help them. Here are three that might resonate.

Chris Brogan’s classic “My 3 Word” approach is interesting and very popular.

If you want less, Andrea Waltz uses one focus word. Simple and laser-focused.

If you want more, Jeffery Gitomer uses a four-word approach for two different areas. Sorry, I can’t share a link for this. I got it by email. If you are interested, shoot me an email and I would be happy to forward it to you.

“Success Requires a Bias For Action”

That is one of my favorite quotes from Tom Peters. It applies in so many ways. Doing something, almost anything, is better than nothing.

Most people I meet are what Zig Ziglar would have called “wandering generalities.” They have hopes and dreams, but they haven’t thought about how to move in a direction towards them. Or they are afraid to try and fail. Or they just don’t know how. Becoming a “meaningful specific” (Mr. Ziglar’s contrasting term) is a big deal.

Big things happen from taking small, manageable steps. Whatever works for you, pick a direction and start walking.