Getting Out of My Own Way

How to Beat Your Own Bad Habits

I’ve never been a New Year’s resolutions guy. In fact, I’d say I’m anti-New Year’s resolutions. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re the kind of person who makes New Year’s resolutions every year and really knocks them out of the park, then I applaud you. That’s impressive self-discipline. Most of us, myself included, fall on the opposite side of the resolution spectrum.

This time of year, you’ve probably heard all about how New Year’s resolutions fail. There are a lot of theories about why this happens. Personally, I think the reason so many New Year’s resolutions fail is because we tie these goals to the arbitrary human date of Jan. 1. We’ve given New Year’s Day some magic power as if we’re more likely to be successful if we set goals at the start of the new year. But in reality, we often use New Year’s resolutions as an excuse to put off starting our goals.

We have the bad habit of knowing we need to make a change or start a project, but we put self-imposed obstacles in our way. We’re always waiting for the “right” time. “I’m going to start a podcast — as soon as I build my studio.” “I’m going to make videos for my business — after I get my teeth fixed.” “I’m going to quit smoking — when my job is less stressful.” Waiting for the right time, when the conditions are perfect before making a change, is a lot like waiting until Jan. 1 to start New Year’s resolutions; we’re finding reasons not to start the hard work and make that change right then and there.

I want it on record that I am entirely guilty of this myself. I’ve spent years sitting on great ideas that haven’t come into reality just because I haven’t made it happen yet. If goal setting isn’t your strong suit, know that you’re not alone; I’m right there with you.

While there are areas I’m constantly battling in my personal life, when it comes to my work goals, I’d like to think that I’m a lot more successful. This is partly because in my industry, we have to constantly be hustling. It’s like a farmer planting their seeds. If they don’t sow the land now, there will be no crops to harvest later. At the office, we always have to be moving if we want to keep seeing results. If we tried to roll through the holidays and wait until Jan. 1 to kick things into gear again, we’d have no business in the month of March/April! In our business, what you do today shows up about three months later in the form of a closed loan. We’d be starting in a hole and struggling to get back on track.

Waiting until Jan. 1 to start working on your goals is one way people get in their own way — hitting the snooze button when you should be getting up. Most of us are guilty of putting off the change we need to make to improve our lives. It’s hard to beat those bad habits. Trust me, I know. But if we’re able to push past and make those changes, 2020 can be a really great year.

And if you ever need someone to talk to about the struggles of goal setting and beating your own bad habits, know I’m right there with you.