Throughout life’s professional and personal journey, we aim to grow, learn, flourish, and thrive within multiple facets of existence. From fostering powerful long-term relationships, to feeling secure within a coveted professional position, or even creating systemic change through a well-received philanthropic mission, we manifest various realities based on inspiration, personal motivation, and innate drive. The process of creating New Year’s resolutions can be a fantastic vessel for creating well-considered goals for the upcoming year, with the intention of using winter’s fresh canvas to spearhead tangible change, action, and planning needed to execute long-term goals.
In the midst of the chaotic holiday season, however, the creation of inspired resolutions may sometimes fall to the wayside. In the frenzy, resolutions are sometimes made without considerable thought, in an effort to forge ahead with tradition. However, in the lull of the proverbial post-holiday stillness, the most concrete resolutions can be forged, when our capacity for meaningful thought turns to the fledgling year that has begun to blossom. Through my own professional and personal experiences, I have come to recognize the transformative power of creating inspired resolutions throughout the year, and looking to these testaments as a means of self-regulation, continued motivation, and inspiration to venture forth. Below, I examine ways to start the new year with tangible goals, inspirations, and a spirit of purpose.
What Drives You?
In order to successfully set forth on a tangible mission to accomplish a lofty goal, some self-exploration must be considered to find your passions, and parlay them into actionable goals. While there are several avenues for improvement across all categories of existence, most individuals would agree that there simply isn’t enough time to pursue every shiny object in the distance. Similarly, without innate interest and motivation, resolutions cannot thrive, and most likely, cannot be realized. As most goals require a time and energy commitment, inherent drive must be present to recognize the need for these commitments, and to rectify the commitments against other facets of existence that may “suffer”.
The process of creating inspired resolutions draws from an emotional desire to achieve a certain goal, create a desired effect, or otherwise garner change. Thus, considering what topics elicit an emotional response can be a helpful tool in deciding what resolutions to pursue. Perhaps you have always been interested in learning to speak another language, or volunteering to build clean water wells in third world countries. Maybe climate change discussions cause you to feel empowered to partake in large-scale protests and gatherings. Whatever the activity, goal, or resolution, the presence of an emotional connection is paramount to maintaining the long-term drive needed to accomplish a meaningful goal within the year.
Personally, I have always been enthralled by the oceans, and the wondrous sea life that exists under the protection of the deep blue unknown. Throughout my life, I have tried to spend as much time in the water as possible, swimming, boating, and partaking in every activity in between. Inherently in awe of the intellect, emotional capacity, and vast importance of sea life, I found myself emotionally connected to the conservation of ocean life. Through reading and researching about growing conservation efforts, and conversely, continued detrimental effects of human intervention, I became increasingly driven by making a change within the realm of ocean conservation.
Recognizing these long-standing passions, there was a concise time where I vowed to take actionable efforts in the realm of ocean conservation. Thus, I made a conscious choice to set forth on a plan to parlay my skills in a conducive manner, and to join a team of like-minded individuals. With such a large resolution and undertaking, playing a small role in an otherwise exhaustive project was the most appropriate course of action. Thus, I set out to collaborate with other experts in Co-Producing the book “Call of the Blue”, a philanthropic venture that aimed to educate the public about the importance of protecting the fragile underwater ecosystem through beautiful underwater photography, and moving text. From there, my involvement grew to include several other tangible participation goals, all within the umbrella of ocean conservation, my unwavering passion. Working with Philip Hamilton once more and the Uproar team , I am participating in the successful creation of “Ocean Souls”, a state-of-the-art film that aims to lend an undeniable connection between humans and cetaceans, ultimately inspiring global protection efforts.
After the success of Call of the Blue 1st edition, we are also working on a more ambitious second edition of a the book with translation in french and german for a broader distribution.
By recognizing a long-term ongoing passion for the oceans, as well as my innate desire to parlay this passion into action, I was able to create a plan for my own participation, and successfully work this plan into my already-busy existence. Without the internal drive and motivation to fuel the commitment needed to accomplish these goals, however, I am confident that my efforts would not have been fruitful. Thus, in the case of creating inspired resolutions that will yield positive results, an internal motivation and passion must exist.
What’s Stopping You?
As complex creatures, human beings often contain the passion and motivation needed to proverbially take over the world, but find it difficult to parlay those motivations into action. For a multitude of reasons, barriers can prohibit or minimize the ability to execute a strategy, and create a functional plan. On the surface, considerations like time management, affordability, and even knowing where to start can appear like tangible reasons to sabotage a potentially meaningful resolution. Thus, it is not only crucial to separate the thoughts that could be potentially stopping you, but to also examine what truly lies beneath these considerations, which can undoubtedly all be worked out.
To effectively examine ways in which you may be sabotaging your own fledgling attempts at creating inspired resolutions, listen to your brain’s immediate questioning of a bold statement. By thinking about a potential resolution, and bringing the goal into a finite space through a constructed statement, you essentially give life to your desire, which can be a somewhat liberating but scary experience. Thus, any negative or nagging thoughts that immediate follow such a statement of resolution can potentially be internal dialogue meant to dissuade you from taking actionable steps to accomplishing your resolution.
After identifying the actual thoughts, you can begin to dismantle them individually, or create a plan that will proactively account for your fears, taking them into working consideration. By working those perceived fears into the plan, you can create a resolution that will work within the scope of your existence, rather than one that will totally deny the existence of any reluctance. By learning to work alongside those hesitations, you can recognize patterns that will make those hesitations diminish over time.
Many individuals find themselves already spread too thin. Thus, the thought of commiting to a quest that requires exhaustive amounts of time can appear impossible. However, by breaking down those fears, recognizing them as being somewhat resolute, and working within the parameters of your own existence, you can create an internal compromise that will meet resolution demands, and maintain a healthy daily balance. In my own experience, I have found this balance through committing to projects that would allow me to autonomously work at a pace that was conducive to the remainder of my obligations. Currently, I hold a Non-Executive Board Member seat for The Uproar, an innovative non-profit organization that leverages modern technology to create meaningful philanthropic multimedia aimed at raising environmental awareness, and spearheading tangible efforts for conservatism. Through this assignment, I am able to maintain a meaningful interaction in the various projects in a way that benefits the overall big picture, rather than proverbially biting off more than I can chew. Finding an appropriate balance between resolution and remainder of life can be the key to not allowing negative thoughts to stop you.
Are You Organized?
In the quest to create inspired resolutions, maintaining organization is key to balancing the added activities needed to accomplish long-term goals and resolutions. To maintain a successful balance of all expectations and obligations, organization is an integral factor. Additionally, remaining organized can also help to create a sense of control, minimizing the grandiosity of a large-scale goal. By breaking down a lofty resolution into micro-sized attainable goals, these goals can begin to feel much more attainable. In my own practice, I have found this concept to be vastly instrumental. While the resolution of “co-producing a book” seems very daunting, the continuous simplified tasks of “proofread copy” and “organize layouts” create small victories along the road to resolution greatness.
What About The Rest?
While pursuing the accomplishment of inspired resolutions is a fantastic way to set forth the path to a meaningful year, maintaining a proactive and effective balance between all aspects of existence is key to being able to accomplish resolutions. Without the remainder of life’s obligations and needs kept in the balance, one cannot devote the efforts needed to successfully complete a resolution, goal, or task. Thus, creating a tangible plan that can be edited with the change of time can be a fruitful way to remain organized, while remaining flexible to intermeshing life’s other responsibilities into the plan. By harnessing an effective balance, you will be undoubtedly reach success.
While New Year’s resolutions sometimes inspire a collective sigh from uninspired individuals who reluctantly vow to sign up for a new gym membership, resolutions can be a deeply meaningful exercise in introspection, and the utilization of passion and energy to spearhead meaningful planning for the upcoming year. Through self-guidance, and an innately honest approach to your own desires, needs, and abilities, you can create inspired resolutions that will equate to a meaningful year, and set the path to continued engagement in activities that fuel your passion. By identifying areas of interest, creating a lofty goal broken down into manageable segments, and remaining cognizant of fitting resolutions into your daily existence, you can create a meaningful 2020.
Follow Clement on his Website and Medium.