After 2020 we all want to look forward to 2021 with more optimism and positivity. Traditionally we make resolutions for the New Year. I recommend that you put aside some time on a January weekend (or whenever suits you best) and decide what you want for the year ahead. We can all create a plan to make the changes we’ve been thinking about, but doing nothing about for years!
I believe that micro moments and tiny interventions are the best approach to change of any type. Forget about the bold proclamations and focus instead on lots of little shifts. To make 2021 your best year ever I’ve pulled together some micro moment ideas that might help. Some come from my ‘Meee in a Minute’ books. Each book offers 60 one-minute micro-ideas and insights that can help us to shift our mindset in our life, work and family.
Use Your Insights From 2020
Choose a time and sit down (or Zoom) with your loved one and assess 2020. Have you learned anything or discovered anything that was unexpected? Did you discover that actually you didn’t need to spend a lot of money to be OK? Did you miss your work or did you discover that you would like to do something else?
Sure, 2020 was a terrible year. And finding something useful or something you are grateful for may be hard, especially if you have lost loved ones or lost your job but see if you can find a silver lining somewhere.
Use those insights to guide you as you map out a better 2021 and start a weekly gratitude practise. Just taking a few minutes each day or even every week to bring to mind what we are grateful for, can lift our mood and improve our health.
What Makes You Happy?
Take a minute to consider where you found happiness over the past 12 months? Before Covid we often thought that we would be happier with a better job, better health, more money, a bigger house, different relationships. What about now? Perhaps you’ve discovered that happiness is in the little moments – spending time with family, meeting friends (still socially distanced of course), reading, listening to music, enjoying nice food or a good coffee.
If COVID-19 has taught us anything, surely, it’s to appreciate the simple things. Take a minute to write down a list of 10 things that make you happy. Make sure those are woven into your weekly life for 2021.
What Will You Stop Doing?
We waste so much time musing over what we could or should do, even when we know in our heart that we probably never will. It’s time to lean into those energy drains and work out if they are important to you or not.
Instead of lamenting that you should walk for an hour a day or go to the gym three times a week, what will you do? Can you commit to a 20-minute walk? If you have no intention of doing either, then be honest with yourself. Use the energy you waste beating yourself up about the things you are not doing, to focus on what you will do.
Instead of getting weighed down with what you might do or should do purge yourself of all the things you definitely won’t do or don’t even want to do. Liberate yourself from the shoulds and coulds and focus on what you want and what you will do to make that happen.
What Would You Like To Learn?
We live in weird times where lies and nonsense mix with genuine information which is making truth harder to access. And the uncertainty is playing havoc with our mental health. How many of us know someone who has fallen down a conspiracy theory rabbit hole on social media? Take a few minutes each week to turn off social media and instead dive into TED.
TED talks believe in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately the world. Use their ‘Surprise me’ feature where TED will randomly select a presentation for you to watch. Watch a different TED Talk every week. Read more books or enroll in an online course and broaden your horizons.
We can never truly know what we are passionate about or gifted in unless we experiment with new skills. FutureLearn.com or Udemy.com are great places to start and some of the courses are great value.
Time To Decide!
How do you want 2021 to be? We may not be able to travel as freely as we want physically but our mind is always open. We can travel anywhere with our mind. Use it to formulate a plan and begin. Begin a course, begin a job application, begin mapping out your business idea. Begin your exercise practise. Begin your meditation. Whatever you want for 2021 – begin it now.
Think about what help you need. People are receptive to helping out at this time of year, so ask for help if you need it, or contact people who may be able to lend a hand in the new year. Begin it. Take a minute to consider what you are putting off. Take one positive step toward that today and keep going.
You can have a very different 2021 so use some time in January to plan what you want. Start small. Make like shifts and small manageable changes. These could lead to you a very different place and make 2021 a much more positive year.
About The Author
Sid Madge is founder of Meee (My Education Employment Enterprise) which draws on the best creativity and thinking from the worlds of branding, psychology, neuroscience, education and sociology, to help people achieve extraordinary lives.
To date, Meee has transformed the lives of over 20,000 people, from leaders of PLC’s and SME’s to parents, teachers, students, carers, the unemployed and prison inmates.
Sid Madge is also author of the ‘Meee in Minute’ series of books which each offer 60 ways to change your life, work-, or family-life in 60 seconds.
