The Power of A Year.
I was in a meeting recently where we were intently focused on whether or not the monthly numbers were ahead or behind budget. And then someone said, you know in the last business I was in, we focused on whether or not we were ahead of the same time period a year ago, i.e. May 2022 vs. May 2023. Hmmmm… We compared May 2022 to May 2023, and yes – we were ahead of the same time period last year. There was progress. Solid, tangible progress.
There is a common trap for our over-achieving brains.
We do our best to set goals and go about working our systems to achieve them. And then we get so focused on month over month progress, we get derailed by a blip or an outlier – in either direction! But if we step back and look at the same time period a year ago, we can see a trend over a longer time period.
Remember James Clear’s the law of compounding? Monthly changes can feel minute, annoying!! SMALL. But… they compound.
Remind yourself of your goals by using the middle of the year as an opportunity to reflect. I believe that goals seep into our subconscious and we start to do things unconsciously that contribute to making them happen. Do you find yourself drawn to certain people? Tasks? Activities? Think about what you are doing a lot of these days. What are the trends in both your business and personal life? (remember it’s all one system).
My encouragement to you is to look both at progress made since January, and to look back at progress made June 2022-June 2023. Get some reflection going, have a think, look at what is working and take a moment to feel good about all the ways that you are contributing. And if you are not where you want to be compared to last year, don’t sweat it. Now you know. You faced into it. Choose one system to implement this month and start. It will compound. Just keep chipping away.
Did you know that Spotify has an AI DJ?
It’s pretty good! He has a bit of a funny voice but it’s been fun to roam through my musical taste without making any decisions (except when to skip a song…) He even played some super old school FooFighters for me, and I think some Skid Row (major throwback). If you are a Spotify person, give it a whirl… it gives our brains a little boost of dopamine when we try new things 🙂
Have a great weekend and see you next week!