The holidays have come and gone.
Hopefully they provided you with some well-deserved downtime and recharged your engines for the new year. The start of the new year is a good time to reflect on the past year and make a new start whether in your goals, your relationships or your health.
The ringing in of the new year and the flipping open of a fresh calendar with its 12 pristine — yet unmarked — months are universally hopeful events. There are many traditions associated with New Year’s as varied as the cultures from which they derive.
Many countries believe that specific actions taken on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day or the stroke of midnight can influence the fate of the months ahead. For example, in the Philippines, wearing polka dots and eating round fruits is supposed to ensure a prosperous new year.
In Spain, wolfing down handfuls of grapes as the clock strikes 12 is good luck for the year ahead. Other countries believe New Year’s customs drive away the bad spirits of previous years.
Bad spirits are driven away by the purifying power of fire in various ceremonies. For example, during the Scottish festival of Hogmanay, parades of village men swing giant blazing fireballs over their heads as they march through the streets.
In South Africa, locals throw old appliances out the windows on New Year’s Eve. In Colombia, residents tote empty suitcases around the block. In Denmark, the Danes ring in the new year by hurling old plates and glasses against the doors of friends’ and relatives’ houses.
The Finnish predict the coming year by casting molten tin into a container of water and then interpreting the shape of the metal after it is hardened. In Panama, effigies of celebrities and political figures are burned on bonfires.
Back here in the states, we typically celebrate the new year with our own traditions. We celebrate New Year’s Eve with fireworks, parades, carousing and toasts. Another famous tradition is to set our New Year’s goals and resolutions.
The hardest part about this tradition is keeping the resolutions throughout the year. While there are now apps available to help you keep these New Year’s resolutions (Lift, Workflow and Hours), Forbes provides us seven strategies for highly effective resolutions.
First know your why. For a resolution to stick it needs to be aligned with your core values. Of course everyone wants to look better and be richer. But Forbes recommends going beyond superficial desires in crafting your resolutions. Connect with what truly matters most to you. You need to feel truly passionate about the goals you set for yourself.
You must also be specific. Resolutions to eat better, get fitter, be happier, relax more and have better life balance can begin to fade because they lack specificity. The more you specify your resolutions the more likely you will be able to succeed in keeping those resolutions.
Third, just don’t think it, ink it. Stanford University conducted a study that found when people wrote down their goals, it increased their probability of achievement by over 70 percent. As attorneys this should be elementary. But don’t just write down the specific goal; write down how you will feel when you’ve accomplished it. For example, my wife likes to tell me that nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. However, I’m quick to point out that a good barbecue and chocolate cake prevail over skinny any day.
Design your environment. You can never underestimate the power of environmental support or sabotage in keeping your resolutions. You need to design your environment so that it is hard not to achieve what you view as a successful result. Create a progress chart, recruit a cheer squad among your family and friends, find someone to hold you accountable, hire a trainer, join a group or create a blog.
All of these can help keep you on track. Similarly, if people or things in your life are off track, you must address those immediately and set boundaries.
You have to narrow your efforts. Don’t try to do too many things at once. If you do, you will lose, be unfocused and likely break your resolution. Set yourself up for success and start with just one major undertaking on Jan. 1.
You can break that goal down into small, bite-size steps. Keep in mind that small steps equal a strong start.
Next you have to focus on the process. Everyone is excited in the beginning. On the first Monday of the new year the gym is incredibly packed. By the end of the week it’s back to the normal crowd.
So you have to focus on the process itself and develop greater competence of the actual activity, habit or skill you want to acquire.
If you want to become fit, for example, focus on being able to jog a little bit further every time you go for a walk, rather than being able to run 5 miles within a week. Persistence always pays off.
Finally, you have to forgive your failures. You are human, so you’ll have setbacks and failures but you can always find your success in your own head.
If you happen to slip up and lose your resolve for a period of time, press the restart button and forgive yourself for the misstep. When it comes to slipping up and tripping up, you’re in good company because it happens to everyone.
Just don’t let your mishaps, setbacks or failures mean more than they do. Tap your inner John Wayne and get back in the saddle. Life rewards those who work hard at it.
Upcoming JBA events
We have a busy beginning of the new year with our first member luncheon Thursday. The lunch will begin at noon at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville and our keynote speaker will be Martina Vandenberg, founder and president of the Human Trafficking Pro-Bono Legal Center.
The luncheon will be followed at 1:30 by the Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking CLE, providing three CLE credits to all attendees.
The 13th Annual Ray Ehrlich Trial Advocacy Seminar will be Feb. 11, beginning at 8:45 a.m. at the Hyatt. This is one of JBA’s most popular CLE events.
You can view a full list of upcoming events and sign up by visiting jaxbar.org.