Imaginary Milestones Work, So Why Not Use Them More Often?
So here we are again. New Year’s Eve… As I review my Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram timelines I see it’s full of self-reflections, self-promotion of achievements, motivational quotes / videos, and predictions. There is no other time of year like this. Why is that?
New Years is really just an imaginary milestone we all agree to celebrate, and it works like magic. The reality is that January 1st is just like any other day. However, because of our collective agreement to treat it like a special day we do special things. Things that we would benefit from doing multiple times throughout the year.
- Reflecting on our successes and failures
- Connecting with friends and family we may have not talked to in a while
- Setting goals and creating vision boards
- Challenging ourselves to be better and do more than last year
A cynic would say that this New Year’s euphoria only lasts a few weeks and as a result is a complete waste of time. Me on the other hand see these few weeks of euphoria as being exactly what you need to jump start your motivation…if you do it again and again every few weeks.
This is my point. People abandoning their New Year’s resolutions after a few weeks is not the problem. The problem is the fact that New Year’s Day happens only once every 12 months. If all a sudden everyone got excited about resolutions multiple times a year the same way everyone does on New Year’s Day, then it’s far more likely people would shed that 10 to 15 pounds they’ve been working on for 5 years.
If I could waive a magic wand to help everyone reach their goals this is what I would do. I would create an imaginary resolution milestone we would all celebrate every quarter of the year. Obviously, I can’t do that. But you could do this for yourself, your family, or your team, and that’s what I suggest you do to make next year your best year.