What does it Mean to "Accomplish" something in 2022? Changing Times Mean Even Minor Tasks--Like Cleaning Out Your Purse--Can Fill the Bill
Our New Year's goals can be lofty and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed when we turn the calendar page. We need to celebrate minor accomplishments.
The empty Lifesaver wrapper was a low-hanging fruit.
So was the unwanted business card from a pushy salesman.
A department store receipt was risky, but it was 1:00 am, and I was in a take-no-prisoners mood.
Out it all went in a fury of activity.
My purse was clean and organized.
Mission accomplished.
Back in 1984, I was working on the political campaign of a not-very-nice man who was running for Congress in Massachusetts. I had my new journalism degree in one hand and a cocktail of eagerness and fear in the other as I worked around-the-clock trying to impress on my first post-grad-school job.
At the end of this particularly harrowing day, I fell into bed exhausted and realized that I hadn’t done a single thing that day for myself; I didn’t even get the chance to eat anything. I grabbed my purse from my bedside chair and dug through it, not looking for an errant granola bar, but for things that I could discard. By cleaning it out, I wouldn’t have to go to sleep that day without accomplishing something personal, however small it was.
Fast-forward to the end of 2021 when I took a test that was gifted to me by my friend Mallika. Maybe you have taken it too. Strengthsfinder, by Tom Rath. You rate a series of statements, and it identifies your strongest personality traits so you can assess and maximize them.
One of my top three strengths was “achiever.”
This is some of the achiever description. “You feel as if every day starts at zero. By the end of the day you must achieve something tangible in order to feel good about yourself. And by ‘every day’ you mean every single day—workdays, weekends, vacations. No matter how much you may feel you deserve a day of rest, if the day passes without some form of achievement, no matter how small, you will feel dissatisfied. You have an internal fire burning inside you. It pushes you to do more, to achieve more.”
So, I realize that wanting to have daily success--no matter how small--has been part of me my whole life.
And here we are now. January 2022. A new year. A new beginning.
Drink my weight in water every day. Sign up for a long-term exercise program. Create a monthly social media calendar. Clean and organize every closet in the house. Turn all my blogs and presentations into books.
Our goals can be lofty and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to succeed when we turn the calendar page.
But has anything really changed from a few weeks ago…just because it’s a new year? We are still living in a world filled with uncertainty. Delta, Omicron, and the next variant down the road will keep us in this place of unknowing.
Maybe this uncertainty allows us to remain in limbo. And maybe that is where we belong, looking ahead just one day at a time and focusing on the immediate.
I listed great resolutions above, but my heart isn’t feeling them. At least not today. Maybe tomorrow. But maybe not. COVID has taught us about appreciating what matters. I am less likely to begin 2022 with an unrealistic resolution that will be broken within the week.
Because it’s all about today. And at the end of the day, it will be about tomorrow.
What can I do in this 24-hour period that will have a positive effect on the world/my family/my friends. Is there something I can do right now that will make myself do/good/be better and/or grow my business?
It took a world pandemic to get us in this healthier frame of mind.
I’m not saying that I am going to scrap planning for the long-term growth of my business, or down-the-road vacations. But I am going to reset. To say that whatever I accomplish today, whether I:
take a walk,
hit a great pickleball shot,
drink that water,
write a great Insta Business post,
finish a client’s “About Me” page,
connect with someone IRL who I met on Zoom,
do a big food shopping,
finish the return pile,
donate 10 shirts,
schedule a mammogram,
get the words on the paper to accurately reflect my thoughts,
nail the crossword,
or make an awesome dinner
needs to be recognized and appreciated. Right now.
Celebrate what matters today, and have a happy new year.