Here we are, looking back at the previous year, reminiscing in retrospect about all the things we went through, everything that made some impact upon our lives.
And while that is important at a number of levels and even amusing to an extent, what is more important is that we look forward towards the year that is ahead.
One year, you see, is representing the perfect time frame in which we can reflect upon success of any kind; time frame in which we can see personal development for the person it helped us to transform into; time frame in which it is hard to delude ourselves over what went right and what went wrong.
And while this way of observing the previous year calls forth for a parallel and almost symmetric expectation of the next, I have a slightly different idea.
New type of personal development for 2013
Running this blog, getting in touch with many people way more successful that me in terms of what society dictates as success, and trying to experience all the things that I read, I came to an interesting conclusion that almost entirely shaped the way in which I see personal development now.
Improving oneself is never about some set amount of goals needing to be achieved. It is rather the process that counts the most, and what ultimately shapes us into the person we want to become.
The results are always a side effect if you see upon things in this way. This was hitherto a very unfamiliar concept for me.
What this mindset helps you achieve is really cataclysmic towards obstacles holding you back. Freeing you mind of trying to chase some goals and standards, you enjoy the process of doing things way more, thus the effect is way bigger.
Personal improvement in its purest form.
What type of resolutions to create for 2013?
The direction of movement is rather clear then.
Focus on doing things rather than thinking about the results or the end goals.
- Don’t say that you will have a bigger salary this year, but say that you will add more work hours, or dramatically improve the quality of work.
- Don’t make this year’s resolution to have a great body, but rather comply with the doctrine of working out more and eating way more healthy.
- Don’t say that you will be more productive, but arrange your schedule so that you will go to bed earlier and wake up earlier too.
- Don’t aim to be happy, but instead create time in which you cannot be anything else but happy.
- Don’t focus on the result, but rather on the action that will get you there.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle (tweet this)
Actions and experiences make us who we are, so in regards to that notion we must focus on what we do instead of what we strive to achieve. Sure an anchor in the form of a goal is always needed, but doing is what makes us transform and hence achieve.
Your ultimate goal for the year ahead
If you look around you will see people asking questions like “How can I get this job?”, “How can I get this guy/gal to like me?”, “How can I get to live my dream?”…
In order to have the best year in our life we ought to reverse things.
So instead of asking those questions, we should reflect deeper and ask:
- “How to become the type of person that those employers cannot but hire?”
- “How to become the type of person that this guy/gal cannot but notice and like?”
- “What should I focus upon and start doing in order to live my dream?”
We always ask the wrong question, hence getting all the wrong things and end up with an epilogue that is less than pleasant.
We always focus upon the results forgetting to realize that the journey is what counts.
Usein Bolt is not the fastest man on Earth because he made a decision to be so, but because he made a decision to increase his training time and add more intensity and effort.
Refine and focus on your “doing” and the goal will not have an option but to materialize.
For this next year I wish you a lot of success however you define it, and most of all good health. I also wish you a great determination and resolve to bring your personal development to a whole new level and become the person you want and always meant to be.
Update your lifestyle, refine everything that you do, and enjoy the process.
Have a great year ahead.