If we had our way the hacks who came up with the idea of New Year’s resolutions would
be loaded unceremoniously into a cannon and launched somewhere into the Pacific.
They’re exactly the clowns we spend our time avoiding at dinner parties, people who talk
for the sake of talking. There is no sacred moment right before the ball drops, where your
Gin and Tonic-soaked head decides to make some life altering changes that finally sticks.
We’re putting way too much stock in epiphanies these days. It’s a game of inches we’re
playing, and it’s a game we’re usually winning if we take a longer view. Life is about
course corrections and climbing higher, not getting a good bounce from rock bottom.
It’s my guess you’ve got some goals up your sleeve that are going to take more than a
year to tackle. So Swagger’s got the game plan to keep in mind as we jump into 2014, our
best year yet.
Step 1: Enjoy the Struggle
If you’re the kind of guy who’s got big plans, you’re also the kind of guy that gets
restless, that wants to be where he’s getting to yesterday. That’s not a bad way to be,
but you have to appreciated that so long as you’ve pointed yourself in the right direction,
you’re on the journey already, and the real trick is to savor the fight as much as the belt.
It’s the work and passion you put in now that makes the peaks not only possible, but
worth it, and if you can’t enjoy the present, you’ll never enjoy the future.
Step 2: Give Yourself a Break
The only people who don’t have to wrestle with self-doubt are either sociopaths or dim-
wits, but that doesn’t mean for a minute you have to let it ride shotgun. Take stock sir,
because odds are in the last 365 days you’ve made great strides, had great experiences,
and made moves that’ll make 2014 the year of you. Browbeating yourself is just another
flavor of self-pity, so don’t fall for the trap. You’re not perfect, but luckily you’ve got
that in common with the rest of the human race, so don’t sweat it. Don’t be self satisfied,
but don’t ever be tricked into thinking you aren’t on your way.
Step 3: Eyes on the Prize
Arnold Schwarzenegger, despite his proclivity for the help, said once that his success
came because he could see where he wanted to be, and see what steps he had to take to
get there. Take that to heart, think about how you get there, break down what it’s going
to take, and you’ve got yourself a do-to list that’s as clear and concise as it gets. If there’s
a disconnect between what you want and the path to get there, look closer, it’s one of the
only jobs no one else can do for you.
Step 4: Be Grateful
You can read English and you have the wherewithal to be reading this on an electric
screen, that means you’re doing better than all kinds of people, and more to the point,
you’re doing better than anybody in the world was only a few generations previous.
You’ve got friends, you’ve got prospects, and you’re not going to be eaten by a lion
tonight. Keep your chin up lad, the best is still yet to come.
And that’s it! This is your permission to skip out on an evening of sober reflection, but
it’s up to you to replace it with sex, booze and the sort of music you wouldn’t be caught
dead listening to you anywhere else. Happy New Year, we’ll be hearing from you soon!