Every year I create a list of goals and set a one-word theme along with a matching mantra for the year I've found this is fun and helpful! It takes large goals and distills them into a manageable daily reminder. Plus its a joy to look back at past years and remember what I was working on at that stage of my life.
This year, I want to add a tradition and write out my greatest lesson learned at the end of the year.
My 2023 Lesson: small, consistent effort >> extreme, inconsistent effort
The first half of this year felt like a slog. I bought a duplex in December 2022, and the renovation of the duplex completely crushed me from January to May 2023. In hindsight, it wasn't as dramatic as it felt, but I had never taken on a project that large: physically, emotionally or financially with such a harsh deadline (every day longer I took, was another day of lost rent). Going through that for the first time was hard and I felt that.
In the midst of that stress, I started working out again as a coping mechanism. I committed to weightlifting only two days a week, no more no less.
Two big things resulted from this:
- I never missed a day.
- I blew past all my PRs from my 20s when I was lifting 5-6 times a week.
In the past I had set extreme workout goals that were hard to maintain. I'd make a huge effort for a few months and then slowly drop off. Two days a week was so manageable I was able to be consistent, and reap the benefits from my compounding efforts.
The same result came from my duplex, the extreme effort of the renovation made me want to give up. Now that the renovation is over it has been easy to see the larger picture of my investing goals, how the duplex fits in and stay the course. Ive also been able to come up with a plan to double my income from it in 2024.
So often we want (or at least I want!) a huge immediate result but I have found that the magic comes from turning efforts into consistent habits that build up over time to incredible results. As I look forward to 2024 I am reminding myself to set goals that align with my energy, my timeline and the opportunities I have available to me.
What has been your greatest lesson from 2023?
xx,
Claire
