A new year. An opportunity to start fresh once again.

Phrase of 2016: Courage. Small steps, Big Heart

I don't know about you, but my dreams don't fit tidily into 365 days. That's why I gave up the yearly practice of goal setting last year. And why you should consider doing the same.

Do you set goals for yourself?
Are they constrained to twelve months?

What is it about a new year that makes us want to jettison all we've been working towards?

Maybe reality TV has conditioned us to believe that story arcs can be neatly wrapped or at least resolved, if not tidily, in an unrealistically short period of time.

Or maybe, movies are to blame. You meet the heroine. The world needs saving. She journeys to the ends of the earth, facing challenges along the way that give her greater insight into who she is, so that when the moment comes to rise up and lead she's ready (usually with about fifteen minutes or half an hour before the credits roll).

Or maybe, movies are to blame. You meet the heroine. The world needs saving. She journeys to the ends of the earth, facing challenges along the way that give her greater insight into who she is, so that when the moment comes to rise up and lead, she's ready (usually with about fifteen minutes or half an hour before the credits roll).

A New Calendar Doesn't Have to Mean An All-New Set of Goals

Two Ways to Use the Start of a Year to Refocus on Existing Goals

The likelihood that you'll reach goals you set for yourself increases if you set a timetable for them. But that timetable doesn't have to be limited to a year. Here are two actions you can take to use January to re-energize yourself.

Chose a word or phrase of the year that speaks to you.

I like to believe that there's enough success to go around and that the jar won't be empty if I'm on a slower pace than someone else. My pace is no longer that of an unattached, single doggedly pursuing a single goal at the expense of the rest of the my life (family, friends, travel, and so on).

My phrase for 2016 reminds me that slow and steady also crosses the finish line. Because I'm not running the race against anyone else, I can make choices that better serve me. My phrase is:

Pick a time table that works for you.

I used to look towards the winding down of a year with dread. My goals pulled out and tacked to the wall next to my desk. For weeks on end I'd be burning the midnight oil, not wanting to fail myself. Not considering that the goal clock didn't need to reset come January.

And then I woke up.

Just because I'd always written goals with the intent of successfully accomplishing them within twelve months. And just because so many other people did that. Did it mean I had to.

Do you know anyone who successfully built a business that fills his or her heart in twelve months? (Sure there will be outliers. But the vast majority of businesses are not built in twelve months. It's ok to have a five year plan.