Happy New Year: Chill Yer Boots!

NEW Year, new you! Hustle. Grind. Smash it! Make this the best year ever. This is YOUR year!

Etc, etc. Yawn!

This is the time of year where marketing messages go into overdrive. The annual boot up the proverbial none of us asked for and the hunting season where self-belief, confidence, work/life balance, aligned energy and sensible wellness are all in danger.

Why? Because if we're allowed to believe that, actually, we're doing pretty well as we are, thanks very much, all those quick-fix programme dollars slide down the drain.

It's a bit like the fashion and beauty industry, isn't it? If we all really believe we look good enough, we'll no longer want to splash out on everything from red-soled shoes to nose jobs!

I'm being flippant, I know. Tongue firmly planted in cheek.

Or is it?...

Stress, anxiety and burnout are already flying high after the past few years we've all been through. That means we need to be building up our reserves of everything from confidence to health, self-belief to cashflow, mindfulness to finely-tuned BS detection

See, my concern is that stress, anxiety and burnout are already flying high after the past few years we've all been through. That means we need to be building up our reserves of everything from confidence to health, self-belief to cashflow, mindfulness to finely-tuned BS detection.

And that's precisely why I make no apology for having a bit of a pop at the usual slew of New Year messages (which are bound to be flooding social media feeds across the globe right now, or, at least, be scheduled to hit as soon as Big Ben chimes) which, although (I'd like to believe) well-meaning, might do more harm than good.

I’m still on vacay as I write this (I like to walk my talk, so I've given myself a lovely long break over the festive season), but here are a few words of wisdom from me (with the benefit of hindsight and experience).

As always, feel free to disregard anything you like, or take it all on board. The choice is yours entirely.

You ready? Buckle up then, people, here we go...

1) ‘New Year, New You’ is nothing but marketing BS.

You don’t need a ‘new’ you - you’re already a perfectly timed version of YOU.

You might want to go for some personal development, learn a bit more, unlearn a few things, maybe develop some healthier habits, but you can CHOOSE to do that at ANY time, when you’re aligned to those intentions. It has fuck all to do with a faux ‘special’ date on a made up calendar.

Choose to make changes because YOU want to and because the time is right FOR YOU, instead of giving yourself a massive New Year Resolution ‘failure loophole’. Because they’re made to break, right? You might want to actively swerve that mindset trap.

2) Hustle, grind, 5am club, etc, etc. BEWARE!

These can be rabbit holes that support the ridiculous notion that exhaustion and burnout are modern-day medals of honour.

It’s not always about working ‘harder’ to achieve your aims. It can just as well be about working smarter, being in flow, and including plenty of downtime to top up your energy, learning and joy factors.

Having tried both, I’d always recommend the latter! Trust me on this - I've got that medal. More than one of 'em, in fact. All that glitters really is not gold and those particular trinkets tarnish pretty quickly.

Of course, there will always be peak times where we’ll need to pull out all the stops and really push the dial, but these times should not be the norm for most of us.

3) Make 2022 your best year yet!

Right. Like 2021. And 2020. And 2019. And 2010. And 1995. And 1988. Insert your favourite year here.

There is NO competition. The years past and present aren’t all lined up at a little starting grid, waiting for the pistol.

This is another crazy construct that can, if we’re not really careful, pile on more pressure, anxiety, stress and lead to more people burning out through some perceived notion of smashing it even more.

Chill yer boots, people!

Breathe.

Slow down.

What do you REALLY want to achieve next year (because it feels right, deep in your bones, resonates through your soul, makes you feel alive and excited - or beautifully calm)?

Let's get real

What do you REALLY want to achieve next year (because it feels right, deep in your bones, resonates through your soul, makes you feel alive and excited - or beautifully calm)?

Is it possible? What will it take? Do you need help? Support? Mentoring? Coaching? Accountability? Extra VA hours? PR expertise, maybe? Will you need a team? Will you need investment? Etc, etc.

Work out a plan. Step by step. Reverse engineer the map you need to take from your desired outcome.

Work it back from there. Be realistic, not fantastical (note: that doesn't need to mean 'boringly safe' - there's nothing wrong with stretching ourselves a little, so long as we don't drill ourselves into the ground - or clouds - in the process).

And what about those smaller ‘goals’?

What do you want to achieve for your health? For your happiness? For your mindset? For your family? For your community?

You don’t need to be scared of your goals for them to be worthy. That’s another piece of really screwed up BS.

Do they all need to be big, scary plans? Honestly, you don’t need to be scared of your goals for them to be worthy. That’s another piece of really screwed up BS. Watch out for that ego trap!

Don’t be duped into the new year pressure/failure/burnout game.

Take your own pace.

Dump the cliché calendar.

Dates are helpful to set markers and milestones and to keep us on track and aiming for set stage pieces, NOT necessarily as a pre-ordained start time.

YOU set your own start time.

YOU set your own goals.

YOU are in charge of your happiness, your development, your future… NOT the marketeers!

Happy New Year.

Happy every awesome day, full of choices and opportunities, whatever the date happens to be.

#UnleashYourAwesome

Taz

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#businesscoaching #professionalwomen #mindset #personaldevelopment