How To Achieve Your Goals in 2023 (New Year's Edition)

Today is New Year's Eve!

The final hours of the year are ticking away, and all around the globe, people are setting big goals for the new year. But let's be real - most of those goals will never be achieved.

Why?

Because most people have ZERO clue of how to actually set goals or create new year's resolutions that will actually stick.

Almost everyone starts the new year strong and then they quickly fizzle out, leaving themselves exactly they were when they started. This leaves them feeling even more defeated and frustrated than before.

Today's letter comes from my wealth of personal experience with failed goals and failed resolutions. If you have struggled to stick to your goals or keep your new year's resolutions, then this week's letter is made for you.

I've always been a sucker for new years resolutions. Each year, I'd meticulously plan out all of the things I was going to achieve, but then I would fail to achieve anything new.

Year after year, this cycle would repeat itself.

But I've finally broken the cycle. I've found a way to consistently make progress towards my goals, without just giving up after a week.

This is the letter I wish someone sent me a decade ago, so don't be surprised if it sounds like I am talking to my past self!

Today’s letter has...

• Three rules you need to follow in 2023

• One resource you can use to stay on track

Rule #1: Don't set unrealistic, meaningless goals

The way you live on January 1st should be the same way that you live every other day of the year. You have got to take the long view with your personal growth.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can just transform yourself overnight. There is no "shortcut" when it comes to personal development, so just commit to the long route. The long route requires patience, but the chance of success is much much higher.

Remember the tortoise and the hare: it is much better to be slow and relentless than start strong and then fizzle out.

I don't want to have this letter go too long, and goal setting is a robust topic. That said, here is the best goal-setting advice I can give you: always set purpose-driven goals.

Your goals should always have a "because" in them.

Examples of building purpose into your goals:

• “I want to lose weight… because I want to play with my little kids without getting exhausted."

• “I want to run faster… because I'm not getting any younger, and I've always wanted to break 20 minutes in the 5k."

• “I want to write a book… because I finally want to share my expertise with the world."

Our purpose is what gives us the will to overcome the inevitable obstacles.

Which leads me to…

Rule #2: Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride

Long term growth will come from showing up day after day. From making hard choices, real sacrifices, and through feeling very real pain.

Before you even start on your journey, you should ask yourself: "is this goal worth the struggle?". If the answer is yes, then you should commit wholeheartedly and never quit. If the answer is no, then you need a to start with something smaller, because the path to growth is one of discomfort.

Sometimes your journey will be smooth sailing and enjoyable, but other times it is going to be absolutely miserable. Once you have committed to your goal, accept that you will face some misery along the way. Brace yourself, so that when it arrives you are prepared.

The more ambitious you are, the more uncomfortable the journey is going to be.

Don't like discomfort? Then you will need to settle for less. Sit on the couch, scroll on your phone - it is going to be very comfortable for you. But accept that you aren't going to achieve anything significant by dodging discomfort.

Your goals are guaranteed to bring discomfort:

• If you want to lose weight - cutting out sugar is going to be pretty uncomfortable, both physiologically and socially. Your body is going to be begging you for sugar's dopamine hit. And you will need to constantly defend your sugar-free decision to your friends and family. But - you will lose body fat, guaranteed. If you care enough about losing some excess weight, then you will deal with the discomfort of not eating sugar.

• If you want to run your personal best in the 5k - you will need to endure painful workouts, set-backs, and you will miss out on some social gatherings. If you care enough about running a personal best, then you will deal with the hard work of following a training plan.

• If you want to write a book - you are going to need to write until your brain aches and your fingers hurt. You will need to wake up early, write when you don't want to, and fumble your way through writer's block now and again. If you care enough about writing a book, then you will keep showing up day after day, putting the words onto paper.

Here is an inconvenient truth that most people refuse to accept: suffering will trigger more growth than anything else.

So, if you want to grow, you just need to deal with the struggle when it arrives. Grin and bear it.

But I have great news...

Overcoming obstacles will give you a ridiculous amount of fulfillment, and that is exactly what you are going to need, if you want to keep showing up every day.

Plus - when you finally achieve your goal, it is going to feel incredible, because you earned the achievement.

No one gave it to you - you put in the work and it all paid off.

Rule #3: Hard work always pays off

One of the most amazing things that I have discovered is that even if you fall short of achieving your goal, you can still succeed, if you are able to gain fulfillment through the process.

When you are putting in the real work and the actual repetitions that need to take place, and when you do these things on a consistent basis, the process will start spitting off positive by-products. You start seeing glimmers of success, and the micro achievements begin to add up.

That’s the magic of a positive feedback loop: when you consistently do the little things, you get rewarded, which gives you even more momentum .

The positive feedback loops your goals create:

• You stop eating sugar to help lose weight, and although you don't see immediate results in the mirror, a couple weeks in, people start unexpectedly complimenting you. They start asking: "hey, have you been working out?" Your pants start feeling more loose. You stop craving the dopamine hit that sugar will bring. Foods that were once bland become more flavorful. Every day that you stick to your sugar-free lifestyle, you are reinforcing the positive feedback loop that helps you lose weight.

• You have been training hard to become a better runner. Each week, you start feeling stronger. The workouts that were once challenging are becoming easy. You can charge up the hills that once made you breathless. You start having more energy throughout the day. You feel more relaxed in stressful situations. You start craving your next workout. With every run, you are reinforcing the positive feedback loop that will improve your running fitness.

• You have been working on your new book, making time every morning to write for an hour. The chapters start piling up and you start seeing other benefits in your life, too. You have more clarity of mind. Written and spoken words start flowing more easily. With every word you write, you are reinforcing the positive feedback loop that will allow you to publish your first book.

But here is an inconvenient truth about positive feedback loops: you don't deserve a positive feedback loop until you have put in some consistent work. Full stop.

So show up, put in the work, and bask in the benefits that will start arriving soon. Think about how amazing this is! Even before you achieve your goal, you can reap benefits on a daily basis. This is truly incredible, because even if you fall short of your goal for some unexpected reason, you will be harvesting the fruits of your labor throughout the entire process.

The Personal KPI Tracker

If it isn’t obvious by now, I really want you to achieve your goals this year, so here is a Personal KPI Tracker that I've made just for you.

I originally created it to track my habits. However, I found that when I updated it on a daily basis, it helped me become even more consistent and as a result, I started seeing even more benefits. Updating this tracker on a daily basis has become a core habit for me.

The Personal KPI Tracker is super easy to use:

• View the Personal KPI Tracker here. Open the sheet and "make a copy". Now you have your very own habit tracker.

• I've written some starter habits for you, but you can add your own. Keep the habits super simple and binary (yes/no).

• When a new week begins, just copy and paste the new week and place it below the previous week. Start every day and every week fresh. Trying to check every box, every day is tempting, but just be honest with yourself. If you missed, it is okay. Show some self-compassion. Anything over 90% on average is great.

• All of the calculations will run automatically, but if you have any issues, just email me.

Okay, that’s all I've got for you, today!

I hope this letter can help you achieve great things in 2023 (and beyond). Don't get stuck in the same old cycle of setting big goals and failing to achieve them - you've got what it takes to make this year different.

Here's to a year full of growth!

- Cliff