As we reach the midpoint of January, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek "holiday" (if we can even call it that) comes to mind: Quitters Day. Believe it or not, the second Friday of January is cited as the day when many people start to abandon their New Year's resolutions. If you're looking to do the math, that was this past Friday, January 12th. As we all VERY well know, the challenge of maintaining new habits or lifestyle changes can indeed be daunting, sometimes even mundane, when compared to our accustomed routines that we've built up over our lifetime. But why do we tend to give in so soon? Experts attribute this to our tendency to seek immediate gratification, a concept known as “hyperbolic discounting,” where smaller, immediate rewards often outweigh the allure of larger, future benefits.
If you, like many others, have had a hiccup on your 2024 goal momentum, let's not give in to despair. Remember: the real power lies in small, consistent changes, and picking back up when we drop the ball. Two steps forward and one step back is still progress, and these gradual shifts are what ultimately lead to significant, long-lasting improvements. As we stand at this halfway point of January 2024, it's a stark reminder that time marches on relentlessly.
We are already about 4% through the year.
For those of us who set objectives for 2024, this moment serves as a vital checkpoint: have we achieved approximately 4% of our goals?
That might sound intimidating, but let me reassure you here. It's essential to remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you find that you're not quite where you hoped to be in terms of your goals, don't be disheartened. This checkpoint is not just a time for reflection but also for readjustment. It's an opportunity to reassess our strategies, realign our actions, and perhaps redefine our objectives to be more in tune with what is realistically achievable and genuinely fulfilling. Entrepreneur and investor Matt Griswold says that the "most overlooked superpower is to think in decades and act in days."
In this journey of self-improvement and goal attainment, patience and perseverance are key as you embrace the process, and understand that true change takes time. As we move forward through the remaining 96% of the year, let's keep in mind that the path to success is rarely a straight line. It's filled with twists, turns, and learning opportunities, each one valuable in its own right.
Join me: let's commit to making each day count, and to building habits that incrementally lead us closer to our goals. The halfway mark of January is not just a measure of time; it's a call to action, a reminder to persist, adapt, and grow. We've got this. And I'm so excited for what's to come in 2024.
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