Are you feeling a little “anti climaxy” about the start of the new year and the new decade? I know I have been..

Last January I committed to a month long healthy eating detox and managed it far better than I expected. All year I planned to repeat that detox month but it didn’t happen. I am sad to say I’ve ended 2019 carrying more “weight” in all senses of the word, than I began the year!

I’ve been looking into various “diets” and “detoxes” and speaking with my own coaches about where my sticking point is – why I’m not getting anywhere despite the feelings of working hard. I’ve come to the realisation that I’ve been looking for a quick fix. Something to commit to for a month or so and use willpower to push through. It’s usually worked in the past, whether it was weight, business, or finances.

In one of my last coaching sessions I recognised that throughout my life I’ve been a last minute person. I could generally bring about change fairly quickly when I put my mind to it.

I cram revised for my A Levels far too late and managed to do well, lost weight on the “Kelloggs diet” when all my work colleagues tried it in the early 2000’s. I’d even knuckled down to work, cleared our debts and saved a deposit for my dream house in a little over 8 months almost 5 years ago.

In 2019 I tried to do these things again. I looked for the short cut, the quick fix. I couldn’t find it. It didn’t seem to work like it has before.
I’ve come to the slow realisation that for big and lasting results, I need a different approach. I need to go for the small wins, the compound effect. There’s a great book called the Compound Effect, if you’re interested. Financial guru’s call compound interest the 8th wonder of the world!

It’s funny how sometimes you can hear or read one thing that really makes a difference. I’m hoping something here might be useful for you. I follow Amy Porterfield who recently interviewed James Clear, the author of “Atomic Habits”, on her podcast.

They talked about how creating good habits yields remarkable results. I confess I’d been trying to get the remarkable results using my usual last minute cramming / quick fix techniques and was disappointed it wasn’t working!

James said “you don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems”. Now if you’re in business etc then your systems might be your email providers, diary systems, marketing etc. I’m not talking about those here. I’m thinking of systems like my being disorganised at home. My office being partly downstairs in the kitchen and partly upstairs in the study – along with the washing!

It might be unopened post, last minute tax returns or paperwork the kids need for school. Oh, and new trousers, (is it just my boys who are constantly outgrowing their school trousers?!)

And the big one for me – exercise.. or my lack of it.

James also talked about having a “1% approach” to changing habits and also how your identity will help you to succeed, or not.   The 1% really got me.  Instead of big detoxes or heavy exercise regimes that will fail after a few weeks, I’d try small incremental changes that will build over time.  It might take a while to see any results.  That’s the tough part.

Rather than decide what I want to do or change just for January this year, I’ve decided to focus on who I want to be and how I want to feel in January 2021.  What do I want to have achieved personally, financially and business impact wise by 2021?

What incremental steps do I need to take – to NOT see fast results, but to see long term, lasting, sustainable changes.   I need to change the habits of the past that aren’t working for me anymore – now I understand what these habits are – the power of coaching!

“Sustainability” became quite the buzzword in 2019 and no doubt it will continue into 2020.   From an environmental perspective, but also I think from a personal one.

I don’t think I’m the only one who wanted the quick fix, the easy option?