With 2020 around the corner many of us will start planning all the ways we’ll make this new year better than the last. The resolutions to eat better, train more consistently, and focus on being a better parent, co-worker and human being are announced, declared, and divulged to all.
This is it! Now is the time! 2020 will be special and different, because I’m fired up, ready to go, and willing to break new ground! I won’t lie, I’m personally starting to get it together in preparation of 2020 before the Christmas season. I don’t want to wait ‘till after the 1st; I want to build momentum going into the new year so that the transition from ho-um to supersonic won’t be too dramatic.
Good intentions and preparations are awesome but follow through and consistency seem to be the problem for most of us. Ever wonder why, come February or March, most of your full-throttle enthusiasm is gone? Why the old habits creep right back in, and destroy all the positive, good vibrations? Why gym memberships, BOD subscriptions, and Next Level downloads go way up after December 26th, but wane by mid-spring?
I’ve miscalculated my abilities to make a change, and I bet more than one or two of you have done it too. Long term, big change requires consistent passion, energy, and enthusiasm - three things most of us don’t have all the time. For a guy with Epstein Barr, finding the energy day-to-day can be even more difficult. I have to be stricter than ever with my health and mindfulness strategies.
I’ve learned along the way that staying in 5th or 6th gear all the time will certainly kill any and all momentum when it comes to fulfilling my purpose here on earth. The angst and intensity required to pursue my hopes and dreams can often times leave me exhausted and fried to the point where days and weeks go by, and I’ve fallen way behind with my important tasks and To-Dos.
It was frustrating and even embarrassing at times when I found myself floundering around, not following through, and procrastinating like I was Tony Horton in 1989 all over again. What was missing? Why am I not sticking with the promises I made to myself? There had to be one more key ingredient to being consistent and successful long term.
The one piece of advice you rarely hear about going into a new year is what NOT to do. Doing nothing at all sometimes will give you the juice you need to succeed. It’s always about networking, making plans, staying accountable, writing down your goals, cleaning the house, losing weight, quitting bad habits, joining the gym, and on it goes.
What if I told you the best advice for accomplishing your goals and sticking to them throughout the year was to do nothing, every once in a while? Sit down, turn off, chill out, be quiet, breath and listen, and for goodness sakes put down your phones for a few minutes. The average person checks their phone every 12 minutes. What could possibly be that important besides a fire or flood?
Experts like John Ratey (author of Spark) often talk about the importance of meditation and mindfulness as a means to calm the mind so you can sustain the energy required to take on life’s daily challenges.
If you’re anything like me, you want to have the passion, energy, and enthusiasm to take on the projects, health challenges, and life-altering tasks at hand. The good news is you don’t have to be constantly banging your head against a wall to do it. There will be times when you need to hunker down, get out of your comfort zone, and do the hard work, but it’s the downtime, the quiet time, the introspective time in-between all that hard work that will keep you focused, centered, and successful in the long term.
Your Pal,
Tony