Find your happy medium in 2022

Photo by ergonofis on Unsplash

Happy new year! As we begin to plan out the year that lies ahead, here are three thoughts to keep in mind as you work towards finding your happy medium:

1) Goals are a good start — but get granular

I’m going to work out more this year!

Great. Now be more specific.

I’m going to go to the gym twice a week.

That’s better. But when will you go? What will you do at the gym?

I'm going to go to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday morning for the 7 a.m. spin class.

Much better. 

The more you can break down your goals – financial and otherwise – into a series of smaller, specific actions, the more likely you are to accomplish them. When you’ve done the work ahead of time you then just need to show up. Speaking of which…  

2) Stack the deck in your favor with accountability

If you want to get to the gym every Tuesday and Thursday morning for that 7 a.m. spin class, how can you stack the deck in your favor?

You could lay out your gym clothes the night before. 

This micro action makes it easier to get out of your warm, cozy bed on a cold winter morning by removing the obstacle of deciding what you’re going to wear.

You could also find a friend to commit to going to class with you.

When you’re the only one who knows what you’ve committed to, it’s easier to rationalize why you don’t need to do it. But when a friend is counting on you, you’re much more likely to show up — even when you don’t want to. 

Now that we’ve gotten more specific with goal setting and stacked in some accountability around those goals, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?

3) Giving up is the only way you fail. When obstacles arise, keep moving.

Planning to be perfect is planning to fail. There will be that morning when your alarm doesn’t go off or your kid is sick and you can’t make it to class. It’s going to happen. The real question is: what are you going to do about it?

Will you throw in the towel, torpedoing all of your progress? 

Or will you dust yourself off and start again?

Life is full of obstacles. But when you know they’re coming, it’s easier to move forward when they happen. The only way we can truly fail is if we stop getting back up again.

I hope you find these thoughts helpful as you work on finding your happy medium in 2022. And if you want to talk through any challenges or obstacles that are getting in your way, please know that I’m here and happy to help.

Brian Plain

Financial planner helping Gen X families live better by blending what works best for them financially and emotionally.

https://www.brianplain.com
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