How to Start 2024 Off on the Right Foot

While we’re sure you haven’t missed any content in the media right now about 2024 ins and outs or resolutions, we still wanted to offer our take on the whole new year, new me situation. 

Before we get into this post, even though the calendar has flipped to 2024, we want to acknowledge the many other New Years that are celebrated across cultures - such as the Lunar New Year and Matariki. So, while January 1st might not be everyone’s official New Year, we hope you can consider the concepts of this post generally when approaching 2024 (as at the end of the day, we all have to remember to write a new date!). 

If you’ve been with us for a while now, you might have seen our previous post focusing on celebrating and evaluating successes and failures, or our other post about lessons learned and leaving behind what doesn’t serve you. As we embark through the first stage of 2024, we think it is important to revisit these important ideas, especially regarding self-reflection. Reflecting on your achievements, mistakes, failures, and lessons learned from 2023 can help you guide your path and put in your best for 2024. 

There is enough in the online space about goals and achieving highly, from achieving the ‘perfect’ appearance through to getting the ‘perfect’ grades or securing the ‘perfect’ job. However, we think that true, sustainable goals shouldn’t be based on unrealistic standards or expectations. Instead, it is vital that to start 2024 off on the right foot, you simply do your best.

Your best may appear in many different forms depending on your context. Sometimes, by giving our best, we may be able to smash that job interview. However, during other times, giving our best may simply allow us to get up and go for a morning walk. The important thing to note here is the dynamism of doing your best. Our best will appear in different forms depending on the stage of life or season we are in - and this is okay. Release the pressure to perform and do everything perfectly in 2024. Instead, in 2024, we are bringing our best in, and throwing the toxic perfectionism and unrealistic standards of the media out. 

We think it is important to have a good start to the year, in a similar way to how waking up on the right side of the bed can set your day up positively. While setting goals and reflecting exclusively at the beginning of each year really is a social construct, it still is a good opportunity to consider how you would like to guide your direction for 2024. However, keep in mind that there is no ‘perfect’ time to set a goal or make a change. One day or day one: you get to choose. 

When it comes to setting goals for the new year, try to keep them open and flexible. We are not about setting rigid goals and striving to abide by them perfectly. Let your life unfold how it is meant to. Sustainable goals are created when they are flexible and not initiated by unrealistic expectations - as these goals are not likely to last in the long term and may instead only hold you back. 

You could start setting flexible goals by doing general self-reflection. Here, you might like to consider where you currently are in life (i.e. where are you working/studying? What do your relationships look like?) and where you want to be (i.e. what job would you like to be working in? How do you want your relationships to appear or feel?). 

You might also like to finish this reflection by filling the void between where you are versus where you want to be. You can do this by coming up with a general path, or action between your current situation and your ideal one. This can help you guide yourself to where you want to be. Explore what actions you might be able to take to help get yourself to where you want to be. For example, what steps could you take to help your future self get the job you want? Could you network with industry professionals? Could you do some experience or intern work? Could you set aside time each week to search for jobs?

When doing your reflection and exploring what actions you could take to lead yourself to where you want to be, it is also important to think about success. Consider what success looks like to you personally, as just like doing your best, success is also fluid and dependent on your relative context. Have a look at our other post on success here, if you want to read a bit more. You can also go to Ep. 1 of our podcast if you want to listen to our take on defining success.

Self-reflecting provides you with the opportunity to think back about your past year while considering and envisioning where you want to be. This is an important activity to conduct, as it can allow for self-awareness and growth. It is also important because it allows you to bridge the gap between your current position versus your ideal one in a way that is open and not too rigid. This is vital because life is unpredictable and you never know what might come your way - allow yourself space to say yes to new or unexpected opportunities. Therefore, flexibility is important for starting 2024 on the right foot, especially among the demands of social media and the online world. 

Overall, while we all want to start the year on the right foot, remember that giving it your best may appear differently depending on your current season of life. If the beginning of 2024 hasn’t gone your way so far, don’t lose hope that the direction for the year is set in stone. Change is inevitable and you can always bounce back from where you have been. As long as you continue giving it your best shot, you should be proud of the effort you are putting in - no matter how the results look. Don’t compare how you start your year with how others start their years, as everything is relative. Stay gentle with yourself, even if your best doesn’t appear as you expect, there is always time to grow and improve, as you have a whole year ahead of you!