Welcome to 2022! New year new you? Or so you say… whether it’s hitting the gym, learning a new skill, or landing a new job, working on yourself is a tough game. We all strive towards self mastery, but how well do we really know ourselves?
Many of us arrive on January 1st with the best intentions, but we put too much pressure on ourselves and ultimately burn out. Burnout leads to feelings of inadequacy, especially when we are exposed to social media.
With that in mind here are some pearls of wisdom to keep your new years resolutions alive.
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Don’t worship influencers
Social media figures are unrelatable for a reason – you are supposed to idolise them, to want to be them, to aspire to excess and fortune. Don’t get me wrong, we all want to be successful, and it’s great to feel inspired, but don’t let that influence become a negative.
Take it one step at a time, be realistic, you wont be Gordon Ramsey or Elon Musk tomorrow, but you can be better off than you were last year. So don’t indulge in social media escapism or hero worship, focus on what you can do in the here and now to make tomorrow better than today.
If you want a hero to emulate, find a colleague or friend you admire. Ask them candidly for advice, they are likely to have immediate and actionable information that can help smooth the journey to your goals. It’s a great idea to surround yourself with like minded people too, fostering a community of healthy competition and comradeship is a great way to stay accountable.
I’m working whilst your sleeping
This is a big one that is perpetuated time and time again, and yes social media also shares a degree of blame on this one. It doesn’t matter how early you get up, yes we all share the same 24 hours, but you can’t spend all of that time being productive, no matter what people say.
There are rare people that can function off of less sleep than others but it isn’t by much, and the vast majority need 7-8 hours to perform optimally, maybe more if leading an active lifestyle. A well rested person will always out perform their tired self, in fact studies show lack of sleep is as detrimental as alcohol to cognitive function.
1% inspiration 99% perspiration
Thomas Edison said it first, and it still stands today, inspiration is less important than the work you have to do to accomplish your goals, so let your inspiration be the seed that blooms into a tangible result, not a flood that rapidly drains away.
Don’t stock up on self help books, start researching a way to accomplish what you want to do steadily, in bite-sized easily digestible chunks. For example, our Jobhunters Cheat Sheet is the perfect place to start researching what you might need to work on to land that next job.
Make a plan that you think is too easy
Many of us don’t want to start small, we are full of motivation in the beginning and want to go all in, but that’s a recipe for burnout and disappointment. It is not hubristic to aspire to greatness, but it is foolish to run before you can walk.
Come up with a plan that is so easy to accomplish that you still feel that fire of motivation at every step. It will be annoying at first, but with motivation sustained you will keep on going, blasting past previous you and achieving successes you thought well beyond your grasp.
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