It’s July! My family and I had an amazing time celebrating the 4th of July with friends and watching the parade through downtown Lake Oswego. We finished the evening out on a boat in the middle of the lake, enjoying the fireworks show from the water.
At the same time, I am realizing it is the half-way point of 2015. I make it a habit to always spend a little time reflecting on the year so far. I encourage you to do the same!
What are you proud of?
What have you accomplished this year that you are proud of? Did you pay off some debt? Get a raise at work? Start saving for retirement? Start a new company? Hire a new employee? Take a vacation? Schedule (and stick to) date nights with your spouse? Buy a new home?
Confidence is the key to just about everything. I have learned this over the years, through my own personal ups and downs, and in watching others. Knowing this, one of the easiest ways to boost your personal confidence is to reflect on your accomplishments as often as possible. Accomplishments can be big or small. But jot them down somewhere. Celebrate your progress.
What New Year’s Resolutions Can You Check-Off?
Remember those? When we all are brimming with new excitement about the year ahead, optimistic it will be our best year ever? Unfortunately by around March it seems most people can’t remember what goals they set for the New Year. It is actually very easy to explain this unfortunate phenomena…we are creatures of habit. Too often people get comfortable with the way things are, and though they want different results for their future, they have not changed their daily or weekly habits.
The reality is, the only thing that will ensure you accomplish a bigger, better future is to change your habits.
If I am bringing up a sore subject, don’t get down! This is why you hit the pause button briefly to do a half time report on your year so far. The great news is there is still six months to go! If you set a goal to exercise regularly, at least four days per week, then you can still do it. Get clear about what the result will look like if you do this. Get excited about feeling better about yourself, having more energy, being more active with your children, etc. Harness that and adjust your schedule to get to the gym. Now, if you have exercised more than ever in the past, yet it’s not as much as you would like to, celebrate! That is progress. While it’s not your ideal, it is a huge step in the right direction. This is the same if you’ve started saving more money this year, paid off debt, etc.
How can you finish the year strong?
There is no law that states you can only set big goals at the beginning of the year! I set new goals every quarter. This helps me focus on fewer, bigger goals for a 90-day period. Find what works for you. After taking a little time to reflect on the first six months of 2015, I encourage you to write down what needs to happen in the next six months to make 2015 a huge success for you. How much would you like saved in the bank? What debt would you like paid off? How many miles will you be able to run (or walk) by the end of the year? Get clear and be specific.
Above all else, practice focusing on your accomplishment rather than all of the things you haven’t yet done. Making this your top new habit for the year could be life-changing. It has been for me.
- Trevor Hammond, Manager of Aspire Mortgage Group, Coach, Author, Father, Husband