This informal CPD article 6 Months Down the Line: Your New Year’s Resolutions and How to Reboot Them was provided by Alison, Free Online Learning Provider. With the sun shining and holidays fast approaching, January feels like a long time ago. Perhaps even further from your mind are those New Year's Resolutions you made. As the year moves on and business tends to pick up after January, it can be hard to stay committed to those goals you set yourself at the beginning of the year.
Whether it's trying to break a habit or find the time to learn a new skill, sticking to New Year's Resolutions is a lot harder than making them. However, because they're so ingrained in the culture, New Year's Resolutions are still a great way to implement change in your life. There's no denying the initial buzz and energy that comes with them, and they can bring with them a sense of collective endeavour.
New Year's Resolutions are an excellent opportunity for personal development. If you take a moment this July to consider a Mid-Year Reboot, you’ll significantly improve the likelihood that you'll stick to and achieve your development goals. Here's a quick Reboot Programme to run through this July, which will help you reassess the changes you're trying to implement and encourage you to achieve your goals.
Take Stock of Where You Are
The point of a Mid-Year Reboot isn't to make yourself feel bad about failing to have fully achieved your New Year's Resolutions (it's only July after all!). It's about taking stock of the situation and seeing where you stand in relation to your goals. It's as much about noting the progress you've made as it is about measuring how far you have to go. Halfway through the year, it's important you celebrate the work you've put in and the advances you've made. This makes it easier to stay motivated going forward for the next six months. And if you've farther to go than initially expected at this midway point, then it's equally as important to take stock and perhaps consider adjusting your expectations so the second half of the year isn't unnecessarily stressful.
Reevaluate Your Expectations - Up or Down
Best Case Scenario: You gave yourself a year to accomplish something, and, six months in, you're almost there. Congratulations! However, rather than resting on your laurels, you should capitalise on this energy and recalibrate your goals. You've clearly got the motivation to achieve so you should leverage it, rather than let it go to waste for the latter half of the year. Worst Case Scenario: It's already July and nothing has changed since January. Life gets in the way of New Year's Resolutions more often than not so you shouldn't feel bad about being behind on your intended progress. July is probably too late to get a year's worth of work done before next January but you can reevaluate your expectations so that, come December, you can still chalk something off your to do list. Even if it's not as ambitious as your original plans, it's important to feel like you're still progressing.
Have You Been Giving Yourself the Best Chance of Success?
By July, you'll know if things are going well or not. It's important to take the time to consider what you could be doing differently to improve your development conditions and the likelihood that you'll achieve the goal you set yourself in January. It's crucial to make sure that you have the necessary systems in place to maximise your chances of success. Have you been timetabling your Resolution work or have you been trying to operate around other commitments on the fly? Do you have a coherent programme of both long term and short term goals mapped out so that you can chart your journey with a degree of objectivity? Do you have a partner that you can work in tandem with to encourage and motivate each other in the pursuit of your respective goals?
Adopting a Growth Mindset Towards Your Goals
When it comes to achieving your goals, success is more a matter of the attitude you bring to the task, rather than the task itself. A Growth Mindset is crucial when it comes to personal development but it isn't an easy frame of mind to master, and almost impossible without guidance. By taking a Goal Setting Mastery course, you'll equip yourself with the mental tools you need to foster a Growth Mindset and achieve your goals.
We hope this article was helpful. For more information from Alison, please visit their CPD Member Directory page. Alternatively please visit the CPD Industry Hubs for more CPD articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements.
