January 2, 2023

Below is a lesson from Success on ways you can start off your New Year in the right direction, as well as our key learnings.

The Blue Courage team is dedicated to continual learning and growth.  We have adopted a concept from Simon Sinek’s Start With Why team called “Learn, Share, Grow”.  We are constantly finding great articles, videos, and readings that have so much learning.  As we learn new and great things, this new knowledge should be shared for everyone to then grow from.

44 Ways to Kick-Start Your New Year

by Success Staff

What are you going to do to make sure you have your best year ever? What one thing will make the difference between actually achieving your goals and chalking them up to yet another year’s unfulfilled resolutions? What can you do to enhance an aspect of your life that you’ve neglected in your single-minded pursuit of that elusive brass ring? Think about it.

We asked a host of experts, readers who follow SUCCESS on Twitter and Facebook, and our SUCCESS staff what they will do to kick-start the new year. We got wide-ranging answers, anecdotes and tips. Our aim is to get you thinking and to inspire you to reach farther, go faster and achieve more than ever before. Are you energized by this prospect? Or maybe a little overwhelmed? Then start small, focusing on just one thing you want to accomplish. This life is yours to make whatever you desire, so start now!

Continue reading here.

Key Learnings:

• Not all of these suggestions will work for everyone -- decide on the ones that work for you and intentionally include these in your daily commitments.
• 44 ways to get you thinking and to inspire you to reach farther, go faster and achieve more than ever before. When feeling overwhelmed, start small, focusing on just one thing you want to accomplish.
  1. Expand your thinking with new experiences. Each month for 30 days in a row, commit to doing something new that you have thought about doing, but have not done, and notice how it affects your life.
  2. Write letters to three people in your life to let them know what they mean to you.
  3. Write down your ideas and start working on a business plan.
  4. Write a 101 life-goal list.
  5. Make a commitment to fitness. Don't just make a resolution to join a fitness center -- commitment and build fitness into your schedule.
  6. Find a volunteer opportunity.
  7. Invest in a bright financial future.
  8. Build value every day. People do business with people they trust and people who make them feel special. The more people you help, the more profits you’ll see. Do something to help them close in on their greatest dreams.
  9. Practice the one-a-day principle. You can’t delight everybody all the time but you can do something extraordinary for someone each day.
  10. Sign up for a birthday/anniversary reminder service.
  11. Increase your awareness of your thoughts. Words have power! When you listen carefully to your language, you will know whether or not you are moving with momentum and purpose toward your vision. As you develop a keen awareness of your communication, you become empowered to purposefully choose language that inspires and empowers you to realize your vision.
  12. Write a personal mission statement or mantra.
  13. Schedule family time.
  14. Lose other people’s opinions
  15. Stop using the “bad thing” label. Whenever something happens that is not in line with our desires, we get disappointed. We stick the label “bad thing” on it. And when we do, we experience it as such. In truth, we do not know whether something unexpected is “good” or “bad,” and we may never know.
  16. Find a mentor.
  17. Take stock and charge forward. What battles did I fight and not win last year? Are any of those battles worth continuing? Why didn’t I win them last year? What can I do to win them this year? How can I make those things I liked most about last year happen more frequently?
  18. Reach my financial goals. Evaluate where you can cut back, where you can improve.
  19. Get a whole new hairstyle or haircut.
  20. Keep friends close. Get back in touch with those you may have lost touch with. Cultivate relationships with those you care about.
  21. Get a leg up. Do what others won't.
  22. Create an environment fostering your success. You might not even realize to what extent you are influenced—negatively and positively—by things and people around you. Start a journal to keep track of these influences so you can eliminate the negative and increase the positive.
  23. Write your top 10 goals for this year and post them where you can see them.
  24. Increase productivity. 80/20 rule to serious work, focusing on the 20% of my work that generates 80% of the revenue.
  25. Take daily steps toward achieving my long-term vision. Daily choices make a big difference in my long-term happiness.
  26. Refresh your network. Now is the perfect time to check in and keep your network working for you.
  27. Automate bill payments.
  28. Reconnect with family.
  29. Do something that scares you.
  30. Be a student of all you do.
  31. Have gratitude.
  32. Stop smoking.
  33. Review your expenses as a couple.
  34. Take a dance or fitness class.
  35. Slow down to speed up. Successful people are staggeringly focused on their vital few priorities that will yield explosive results. The best way to build this type of focus is to slow it down.
  36. Cut up credit cards.
  37. Plan a trip to a place you have always wanted to go.
  38. Write a not-to-do-list. There is a difference between being busy and being productive. What are you wasting time on?
  39. Clean out your closet and donate unwanted clothes to charity.
  40. Schedule a regular date night on your calendar with your significant other.
  41. Schedule all doctor and dentist appointments for the year.
  42. Say “yes” when you want to say “no.” If you want to increase your possibilities, options and opportunities, say "yes" to a business, social or community project, invitation or event, to avoid saying “no” to the serendipitous benefits that arise. 
  43.  Communicate and connect.
  44. Lower your blood pressure. Cut your sodium intake. The American Heart Association recommends consuming “no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) a day and moving toward an ideal limit of no more than 1,500 mg per day for most adults.” Start by reading product labels for sodium content.