A Happy New Year and I hope 2023 is enjoyable, healthy, and motivating.
Among my favourite forms of inspiration are Motivational Quotes and I therefore choose them as a tool to encourage goal setting, clear directions, and planning and hence a sense of attainment and well-being for the coming year. Here are ten of my favourites.
1. “The weak wait for opportunity. The strong seize opportunity. The wise create their own opportunity.” (Chinese Proverb).
Make 2023 the year you truly take the initiative, not waiting to see what comes up, but going out to seek it. If, for example, you’re waiting for the right job to appear online or in the press, you might consider contacting organisations you’d like to work for.
2. “When one door closes, another opens. We may spend so long looking at the closed door, we don’t see the new one open.” (Spanish Proverb)
Starting the year on a positive note, closing some old doors and opening some new ones, can motivate you to new directions and achievements. It can be difficult to close an old door, although that old door may be the very thing that is holding you back. By closing that door you will open the way to new opportunities.
3. “January 1st is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one.” (Brad Paisley)
The start of the year offers you an opportunity to write your own book, not only by you but for you. Start your book by writing down the main goal you’d like to achieve for 2023.
4. “The optimist lives on the peninsula of infinite possibilities.” (William Arthur Ward)
Identify a goal that is more of a dream that you would love to attain, even if it doesn’t feel quite as realistic as your other goals, perhaps a bit beyond reach. It is inspiring to write down such goals and to think about a few tasks that can take you in that direction.
If you are someone who needs several goals to pursue, add to these two secondary goals, one personal and one professional to give some work-life balance, if you are working.
5. “This bright new year is given me. To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be, My highest and my best!” (William Arthur Ward)
Use a diary or online system and, for the next seven days, note for each day of the week, one tiny action to relax you and enhance your sense of well-being. As it’s too much to do this for 365 days of the coming year, you may like to repeat some or all of these each week, or write new actions at the start of each week.
6. “If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything, is ready, we shall never begin.” (Ivan Turgenev)
Common reasons for delaying or never getting round to pursuing a goal is that there isn’t enough time, that other things need dealing with first. In this case, you may never start working on your goal at all. Instead set time aside, earmarking time in your diary/planner to work on one or more goals. Start tomorrow. Do a little bit each day and see how far you have moved forward even in one week!
7. “You can’t plough a field simply by turning it over in your mind.” (Gordon B Hinckley)
Write everything down. It is never quite the same if you only keep it in mind. Writing down it down makes it real, less easily forgotten and will focus your attention.
Stages in summary
- Be open to creating new opportunities.
- Set clear, concrete goals.
- Give yourself a start and a finish date for each goal.
- Set times & dates in between to work on your goals – & stick to your plan.
- Break down large, daunting or difficult tasks into minute steps to make them manageable.
- Write everything down: goals, steps, dates and times.
Whether you have
- a vague idea of what you want,
- no idea of what you want, or
- a clear idea of what you want,
coaching will help you define and prioritise your goals and support you in deciding the actions to achieve them, encouraging you along the way to succeed with your plans
Here are more of my favourite quotes to inspire the year
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” (CS Lewis)
“A man grows most tired whilst standing still.” (Chinese Proverb)
“Live without pretending. Love without depending. Listen without defending. Speak without offending.” (David Drake)
I wish you an interesting, creative, healthy and fulfilling 2023.
