New Year, Same You?

In the United States, the average person lives to 79 years old.

That’s approximately 28,850 days on this earth. That’s 692,400 hours to do something worthwhile. But we make our measuring stick much simpler, a number everyone knows well: 365.

What have you done in your last 365 tries, your last 8,760 hours? Did you complete that resolution or the other goals you set for yourself in your career, your family, those personal aspirations you hold closest to your heart?

A reported 38% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. Of that, only 8% are successful. That means a few things. We are either not putting in the proper work to achieve our goals or there is something wrong with the goals themselves. Maybe they are outside the parameters of our control, or maybe that hard work hasn’t amounted to something in the time frame you’ve wanted, but it will later. Maybe this year simply wasn’t the time and the time is on its way. There are another 8,760 hours on their way—another 525,600 minutes, another 31,336,000 seconds to get it right, to reach your goal.

One year isn’t the end all be all. It is one chapter in a very long book. So instead of thinking about the resolutions you didn’t achieve, take a second to think about the things this past year that you did. What were the good things that happened? What were the things not on your New Year’s list that you did accomplished anyway?

Be proud of those things no matter how big or small. And when it comes to the rest, remember that there are a lot of moments left to live and each one brings us that much closer to the things we are longing for. We may look at other’s lives and think things, like a spark, happen quickly for them, but no matter how short or long it takes, creating a spark takes friction. Our accomplishments take friction. Sometimes to accomplish is to overcome—overcome conflict, obstacles, disappointments or rejections, blood, sweat, and tears. And that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile.

So put in the work, keep reaching for those goals.

After all, we’ve got time.