“New Year, New Me” is a phrase I’ve heard at the start of every year for as many years as I can remember. ‘ve even said it a time or two myself. We make all kinds of resolutions for our businesses and our lives, usually with very good intentions. What usually happens is after a month or two, we abandon them. Why? They’re often too vague or not rooted in reality. Not only that, but we’re operating from a lens of needing to be brand new. I invite you to consider not striving to be a new you, but rather, a more self-aware, elevated version of the you that currently exists.
You may be thinking, that’s what I mean when I say ‘new me’, but I challenge you to consider the language. What you say speaks volumes. Let’s change the language a bit so that work-life harmony has a fighting chance to exist and be maintained.
Reverse engineer your thinking. I listen to Myron Golden a lot. One of the things he often speaks on is the need to ask better questions so that you receive better answers. Acknowledge that you desire to lose weight or secure more contracts for your business by writing it all down. Next, write down how you will feel once you achieve your goals. Take moment now to think about it. How good will it feel when you land your next contract? What dress/suit will I buy when I shed a few pounds? Where will I go on vacation when the contractual deposit lands in my account? Go ahead. Think about it. See how much better you feel when you think about what happens as the end result? You’ll find yourself feeling a lot more inspired to do what comes next.
Write out everything you need to achieve. Now that you know how you’ll feel and what you’ll do once you’ve accomplished your goals, you’ll want to write down each step of the process necessary to achieve them. Write down every single step. What do you have? What do you need? Who do you need? What is my capacity? What do I need to say yes/no to in order to be successful? Do I have an accountability partner? How will I measure my success? How will I celebrate myself?
Be clear and graceful. You set yourself up for failure when you’re not clear about your goals and don’t allow yourself any grace if/when you fall a bit short. There is nothing wrong with you. It may be your habits, your perspective, or your expectations. The ‘new’ should be more about refinement and redirection than about creating a whole new you. Again, new me may be implied that you mean changing up what you eat or how you pursue business opportunities, but you have to clearly state it that way, be consistent, and exercise discipline.
It’s all about choice. In this new year, I’ve chosen to elevate (my word for 2026). Instead of new year, new me, I’ve chosen to say ‘new year, better me’, and I’m paying attention to my language. For the women reading (or the men who work with women/women’s organizations), let’s take this conversation a step further by checking out this workshop experience: https://www.joycekyles.com/create-yourself/