2023 is quickly coming to an end, or rather, 2024 is fast approaching. And you know what that means? People are setting goals for the new year.
Trains
Have you ever ridden on a train? I’ve been on several in the states (specifically in Washington and Alaska), but I’ve used them extensively throughout the U.K. They’re a fun and fast way to travel long distances, often providing views of the countryside you’d otherwise not see.
Trains have one job—to get you from point A to point B. They can speed up or slow down, but they must stay on their tracks. No deviation. And when the unthinkable happens—the train goes off the tracks—the journey comes to a screeching halt.
I think many people who set New Year’s goals are like a train. They set a goal—like giving up pizza and ice cream—and for a time, manage to keep that goal train under control and on the tracks. Then they crash—eat a bowl of ice cream after dinner at a pizza parlor—and their goal is abandoned as quickly as that wrecked train.
Did You Know…
- Locomotive engineers control a train’s speed, acceleration, and braking.
- Part of a locomotive engineer’s job is to stay vigilant, watching for changing conditions, signals, and potential hazards along the tracks.
Planes
Like a train, a plane gets you from point A to point B—though maybe a little faster and with less of a view—but it isn’t hampered by tracks. True, an airplane pilot has a flight plan to follow, but pilots often detour from these plans because of weather, mechanical or personal issues, etc. Whatever the reason, the pilot makes the necessary adjustments in mid-flight and keeps going.
Eating that pizza and ice cream is no reason to give up on the goal. If you’re a plane, it’s just a bit of turbulence. Make adjustments and keep going. The goal might even need modifying. Keep eating healthy, but maybe enjoy a reward of pizza and ice cream once a month.
Did You Know…
- Pilots don’t “make up time” by doing the flight equivalent of “stepping on the accelerator.” That would burn too much fuel. Instead, a pilot will get permission to reroute the plane on a more direct path.
- Pilots wear different hats. During flight they act as a meteorologist, communicator, counselor, diplomat, analyst, and engineer.
- “Get-homeitis” or “get-thereitis” can be a major problem for non-commercial pilots flying small planes that don’t handle bad weather as easily as large jets. Diverting the flight—or aborting it all together—should be viewed as a wise decision, not an admission of defeat or lack of piloting skills.
Me
At the end of 2022, I wrote a DYK? comparing life to a Tetris game (click here). I was excited about the move back to Texas and what 2023 would bring. I had lots of plans and goals but, as it turned out, only managed to accomplish a few. Like the plane, I needed to make numerous adjustments during the year, especially when it came to writing.
Writing is a major part of my life, and while I kept my main goal—to write—I had several writing-specific goals I had to backburner, but I never gave up on writing. I just narrowed my focus and concentrated on my weekly DYK? blog. While I won’t say it was always easy—I sometimes had to write long past my bedtime because I didn’t have time during the day—I kept writing.
I “showed up.” Or paraphrasing one of my favorite authors, I sat my butt in the chair and wrote. It feels good to write—once I start. It’s the “getting started” that can be the problem. Thankfully, after three years and four months, writing my DYK? is now a habit. Samuel Johnson said: “The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” He was right!
Did You Know…
- I saw more midnights in 2023 than I did throughout my entire youth!
Final Thoughts
Meeting goals usually requires changing something in your life. James Clear said, “If you want different results, you have to do something differently.”
So set those hard, but good-for-you, goals, just don’t forget to reward yourself with fun and easy ones, too. And remember, occasional diversions from or altering of your goals doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Failure only comes from giving up.
Did You Know…
- A bad performance, bad workout, or bad day at work can demotivate you and get you off-track. Don’t let it. Get back on track by getting back into your pattern the next day.
- Your goals should be realistic, sustainable, and measurable. Start small and increase with time.