I’m no exception — it’s no coincidence that I quit my job effective December 31st 2011. It seems fitting to launch yourself into a new endeavor at the start of a new year.
While this is all very romantic, I’m afraid it is my intention to bring you crashing back down to earth. To your intentions, I say bravo. But to your future reality I offer a warning: your chances of failure are high. To discover why and to put yourself on a path more likely to result in success, keep reading.
Know What You Want
Perhaps the biggest problem with New Year’s resolutions is that they are typically wrong. By “wrong,” I mean that they do not truly reflect what you ultimately want.
Take for example a resolution to lose 20lbs. Do you think that if you lose 20lbs, you will be 100% happy with your body? The answer is probably no. Your resolution represents just a step, yet you probably currently view it as the end goal.
But here’s the thing: there is no end goal. Quitting your job isn’t the end goal. Building a six-figure business isn’t the end goal. One could argue that contentment is the end goal, but 100% contentment isn’t possible. (Furthermore, I don’t think many people are resolving to “be more content” with their New Year’s resolutions. It’s just not sexy enough.)
When it comes to setting resolutions, we are often after the wrong thing and we often view it as the thing. If you built a business that caused you more stress than your job, would you be in a better position? No. So why not start with a better resolution? Rather than resolving to quit your job, resolve to reduce your outgoings, downsize your home and get a cheaper car. That’ll bring you far closer to contentment, because financial stresses will be reduced and you’ll need to earn less to sustain your way of living.
That is just one suggestion but my point is this: be sure that your perception of what you want truly matches what you want. And if you’re not sure, just work it backwards: how does your resolution ultimately lead to your contentment? Is there a clear path? If not, you may want to reconsider what you’ve set out to do.
Know That You Want It
I once wrote an exhaustive post on goal setting and motivation here on Leaving Work Behind, in which I dedicated a few sentences to New Year’s Resolutions. It feels timely to revisit my words now:
Every January, a slew of new goal-setting posts are predictably released across the internet. I say “predictably” because the start of a New Year is a symbolically powerful reminder that you should seek to better yourself.
There’s just one issue: it’s completely arbitrary.
I am willing to bet that goals set on January 1st are statistically more likely to fail than goals set on any other day of the year. That is because those goals are fueled by temporary enthusiasm – not a deep-seated desire.
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My point is this – any goal that is worth setting, is worth setting right now. Not next Monday. Not in the New Year. Today. If you find yourself procrastinating, that’s because the goal just isn’t that important to you.
To be brutally honest, one reason you might fail in your New Year’s resolution is that you simply don’t want it enough.
This is something I see time and time again — people say that they want to leave work behind, but they aren’t prepared to do the necessary work. The number of people of this ilk invariably rises around this time because they’re spurred on by the prospect of a fresh start.
With the above in mind, my first suggestion would be to read the above post in full and consider your goal as objectively as possible. Only then will you truly know if you are ready.
Start Small
Once you’re sure that you’re ready to leave work behind and willing to put the necessary work in, you need to all but discard the notion of taking big steps.
This is yet another problem with New Year’s resolutions (as I have highlighted in today’s post on Healthy Enough) — they are typically outlandishly huge and, ambiguous to boot. Setting a resolution to “quit your job and build a $50k per year business” is all well and good, but it’s a hell of an imposing goal.
So instead, start small. You can make up New Year’s resolutions every week if you want to — just omit the “New Year’s” part and keep the “resolution.” There’s no rush to make all your big promises on one day.
I’ve remarked on the concept of starting small multiple times before here on the blog, but I’ll refer you specifically to my post on defeating self-doubt and leave you with this statement: before you start walking, sure your cracks aren’t chasms.
Now Go Forth and Change Your Life!
I am not anti-New Year’s resolution — far from it. If you can use one of the most symbolic times of year to launch a new chapter in your life, you have my full support. But please recognize that the New Year holds no magical powers — it is purely symbolic.
You must know what you want, you must know that you want it, and you must take a slow but steady route in achieving it.
Happy New Year and good luck to you in 2014!
Photo Credit: gwire