There are different ways to look at the arrival of March. One is to look backward and contemplate the two months that passed; and maybe agonize about missed opportunities.
Another way is to consider it an opportunity. A time to carefully consider where you are, maybe determine what went wrong, and plan actions to move forward. For those seeking to improve their well-being, work-life balance or other element of their lives, March is an excellent time to take inventory of the year so far.
Know this: less than 17 percent of the year has passed by the start of March. There’s plenty of time to make adjustments and maybe meet New Year’s resolutions, or adjust course to better reach goals set for the entire year.
When the New Year’s Hopes Begin to Fade
Consider for a moment how you felt at the end of last year. Gifts abounded, pleasantries were exchanged, and the coming new year meant hope and other good feelings. The sky seems the limit when a new year starts.
But come late February, the new-car smell fades. The diet was long-forgotten; the pledge for fitness a distant memory; plans to save money thwarted with the arrival of holiday bills. The list goes on.
Life constantly throws curve-balls (and sliders and worse) your way. The key is how you react. Instead of letting failures weigh you down, look ahead to the potential for adjustments, take action, and change course.
Almost every successful operation, from businesses to nonprofit organizations, and even 12-step programs, take inventory consistently. A retail operation needs to know exactly what it has in stock, and what items sell (and don’t sell) to plan orders and better capture sales and improve profits.
People can take inventory of themselves, too. Doing a simple self-inventory can be insightful, and at times inspiring.
Reflecting Inward and Taking Stock
A personal inventory can be more difficult than an inventory of, say, a store. In retail you just count items and log findings. In business it’s a numbers game.
For yourself, there might be numbers involved, certainly. Maybe you either bought a new car, or you didn’t. However, often our personal inventory comes from a deeper source.
“Taking a personal inventory means reflecting inwardly and taking stock of what makes you, you. From personality types to morals and interests, these are the truths that define you as a person,” wrote Maxym Martineau in 2018.
So where to start? Following are some simple tips.
Personal Inventory to Get Resolutions Back on Track
Just get a pen and notepad, dedicate some time, sit down and write. Start with broad topics you most want to work on, such as your health, relationships, career, or finances.
With those as section headers, fill out what you want to accomplish with each, such as:
Health
- Lose 10 pounds.
Relationship
- Take spouse or partner on vacation to (pick your spot)
Career
- Enroll in (pick your topic) class
Finances
- Set up savings account
Once done, consider the list and each item carefully. Think about what you’ve done so far, and list actions that need to be taken, and when. With dates set – pick one to do immediately – you have a checklist to work off.
Then dedicate yourself to crossing items off the list. You might be amazed at the satisfaction you feel as you do so. And remember: you still have 83 percent of the year to do it, if you start in early March.
Ask the Big Question: Why?
I once worked as a journalist, for a major metropolitan newspaper. In that work I asked a lot of questions to a lot of different people. What I learned over the years is the best question to ask is really simple: Why?
During an interview I found that just saying “Why is that”? or even just “Why?” forced the interviewee to talk more, and provided insight into why certain actions were being explored, or opinions formed.
You can do the same with the categories you listed in your inventory. If you listed finances as a major focus area, ask yourself Why? Are you saving to buy a house? For a new car? Is having more money important to you, or your significant other? If so, why?
For health it could be losing weight to relieve stress on aching knees (my current problem, by the way). For the career, you might come to the realization that you don’t like what you do, and that dreams of another type of work somehow got buried beneath your day-to-day trudge.
You might discover your work-life balance is completely out of whack.
Asking Why can be extremely insightful.
Focus: 1 Bite at a Time
I met some very significant goals last year, personal challenges that were serious and difficult. Yet, other tough obstacles remain – because I didn’t take on more than I could handle at one time.
Meeting significant goals is important for your well-being. It makes you feel better about yourself, and provides a feeling of moving forward toward attaining a better life.
Don’t think you have to take on too much at once. Pick your top one, or two or three, and focus on them in the 10 months ahead. Set aside others on a sort-of “waiting list” for 2021.
I liken it to a pitcher in baseball in a troublesome situation. I’ve seen it many times: runners on second and third, and the pitcher is completely focused on picking one of them off, for a quick out and to reduce potential damage. The pitcher throws to third, unsuccessfully; then maybe even back to second.
He looks and looks and looks at the runners again and again. Then he finally throws the pitch – and it’s is hammered. Runs score, all bad.
What he needed to do was focus on the batter. What the hitter would do (or not do) with his pitch would dictate the outcome. The pitcher expended too much energy on what had happened (two batters reached base); and not enough on what was needed (to strike out the batter, or at least get a pop-up or weak contact).
Be careful to not let your mind wander too much back on what has happened this year already. Maybe you’re not quite where you want to be. But you still have 83 percent of 2020 to look forward to – and a list as a plan of action to move forward.
Summary: Time to Resurrect Resolutions
At the start of each year, too many of us give up rather quickly on goals we had for the entire year, such as losing weight, getting more fit, saving money, etc. Why people give up in January, or even February, is unknown.
Take a hard look at what is most important to you. Focus on a plan that supports those things; everything else is noise, or impediments in your road to success. Beware of time-wasting habits, such as social media monitoring.
March is a wonderful time to re-dedicate yourself. It’s the time of year when the weather can dictate our moods – more sunshine, warmer temperatures, the feeling that spring is right around the corner.
Spring is a time of re-birth. With a little dedication, you can make it a re-birth of your new year’s resolutions, too.