2023 was a year full of challenges and missed opportunities within the South African and global context. Luckily 2024 is a new year filled with opportunities to self-discover and prosper.
Accountants share more than just a love for numbers. We tend to have similar character traits, such as the desire to achieve difficult things and to have high expectations of ourselves. Synonymous with the new year approaching is New Year’s resolutions.
When setting New Year’s resolutions, it is easy to fall prey to the ‘doing mentality’, meaning only setting goals relating to your work or academics and that seem impressive or life-changing.
When setting your New Year’s resolutions this year, I want you to keep in mind that you are a human being, not a human doing. Think intentionally of not only what you want to achieve, but also who you want to be on your journey whilst pursuing your dreams.
One of the many misconceptions of happiness is that success or achieving your end goal will make you happy, but the pleasure of arriving at your destination is only 1% of the journey after all. Remember that happiness is about how you get there.
Visualise your goals
According to Dr Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at Dominican University in California, you are 33% more likely to achieve your goals when writing them down.
I encourage you to create your vision board for 2024 containing the dreams you envision for yourself. Write down your goals and place them on your wall where you will be able to see them daily. Visualising your dreams is important, as everything in life happens twice: first in your mind and then in reality. How would innovation be possible if someone did not first think of the once unthinkable or impossible? Be mindful of healthy habits that will put you in the best state of mind to accelerate and achieve your goals. It is our own responsibility to utilise the knowledge available on how to cultivate a healthy mind as this is your biggest asset.
Write your desires in the first person to ensure that it is personal as well as a practical example of how you plan to cultivate them.
Examples on my vision board for 2024 are:
- Intentional – Create a vision board for my dreams with small steps to get me closer to my goal. Time is the most precious commodity. Be sure to know where I will be investing my time this year.
- Mindfulness in the present moment – Meditate for 10 minutes a day.
- Beat decision fatigue to gain mental clarity – Establish a healthy morning and evening routine.
- Strengthen my ability to focus on solutions as opposed to problems – Practise gratitude by writing three things I am grateful for in my gratitude journal, thereby training my brain to focus on the positive.
- A healthy mind and body – Be intentional about moving my body and use every opportunity to spend time in nature, such as eating lunch outside.
- Feel connected and supported – Schedule at least one social activity for the week and reach out to the people in my life. The only way to have a friend and build a community is to be one.
- Resilience – Cultivate a growth mindset by willingly taking on challenging activities and exposing myself to failure to get comfortable with it.
For a deeper delve into the importance of dreaming big, creating a vision board, and suggestions on cultivating the characteristics needed for success I invite you to join me in exploring mental health in accounting science by listening to the iCAn Academy podcast where I unpack various of these topics.
Author
Celine Kotzé
