The New Year is now upon us. It feels like yesterday when we were celebrating stepping into 2022. 2022 came and went; it is time to navigate a fresh New Year. As with all things, you need to start the right way. There is a way you should start 2023 to best position yourself for success. That is the subject of this discussion: starting 2023 the right way. It might seem trivial, but your first steps in a New Year matter. I believe we now live in times where we must not waste time. We need to be highly productive more than ever before.
End The Preceding Year Properly
“As a business, there is a structured way you should conclude the year,” I said in an article titled Year End Checklist Every Business Must Tick Off. If you have not read that article, please do. That same principle applies to any area of your life. You need to conclude the preceding year in a structured manner before starting a new one. That very act constitutes starting 2023 the right way. This is because you start the New Year knowing where you are headed and what you have to do.
Assess How You Started 2022, Then Make Necessary Adjustments For 2023
Albert Einstein said so many remarkable things during his lifetime. He once spoke about how ludicrous it is to work out solutions using the same level of thinking in creating the problems. He also defined insanity as doing the same things repeatedly yet expecting different results. It is funniest to think that we have many insane but sane-looking people. Why? It is because many people repeat the same things and expect different results. This applies to how you start your New Year.
How did you start 2022? You need to make a ruthlessly honest assessment of how you started it. Throw out what worked and figure out a new approach. For instance, many people start the New Year by drinking and making merry. Why not do it differently in 2023? Why not start the first days of 2023 doing visions retreats? There are so many things you can do differently in starting 2023. Pause and think intently about it!
Redefine And Realign Your Core Focuses
We often get distracted and focus on the opposites of what truly matters. In 2022 I once shared with you 6 things to do to get the best out of the final 2 months. The beauty is that those same things are pertinent to starting 2023 the right way. I say so because I know most people start the New Year relaxed. They actually compromise a lot during the beginning of the year due to the festive hangover.
You can start 2023 rightly by redefining and realigning your core focuses. Manage your time more strictly. Focus only on high-priority things. Make daily contributions to your goals. Review everything you do more frequently. Associate only with high-value people. Deep work like never before. Action all these 6 things from January 1st 2023 – the definition of starting 2023 the right way.
Did You Know That The First 3 Months Can Define The Whole Year?
This is a follow-up to the previous talking point. I strongly feel I should dwell on that for a bit. When doing anything that requires time, it usually takes 3 months for results to set in or be visible. For example, this is common in physical body workouts if you want to start 2023 the right way, you have to be laser-focused from the beginning of January to the end of March.
If you do that, April to December will sort themselves out. If you get it right in the first 3 months, you are set! By the time you reach the end of March, you will have ingrained in you a winning routine. This is practical; I want you to implement it. Give yourself wholly to the 6 things I mentioned above. Do it daily from January to March and see where you will be by then. In short, start 2023 by getting it right in the first 3 months.
Actively Distance Yourself From Negativity
January disease is a term most people refer to when the New Year starts. In most cases, the toughness of January is borne out of poor decisions in the last quarter of the previous year. I do understand you live in a mercurial operating environment. There is negativity, but you must distance yourself from it when starting a New Year. This is noteworthy because most of you get weighed down by negativity when the New Year starts. Distance yourself from it mentally; do not feed into it.
This might actually require you to avoid certain people or specific information sources. This might sound cliché or merely philosophical, but this is pivotal to starting 2023 the right way. You will be doomed if you allow yourself to be weighed down or swallowed by negativity. When starting a New Year, you are launching yourself. The thrust you need to take off will be unattainable if you are consumed by negativity.
That is it; you now know how you ought to start 2023. Once that is on point you need to sustain all that by consistency. For many, that is where they miss it. You can start exceptionally well but that is not enough. Starting 2023 the right way will mean something if it remains consistent throughout 2023. We have been victims of waning focus and consistency as the year progresses. Do not let that be your story again in 2023. Start early, and start strong! More importantly, remain on course; consistency!
