Goals and Mental Shifts in 2023
Egypt, May 2022. Iād like to channel the energy I was feeling in this photo into 2023 - calm, focused, and confident.
The beginning of a new year always triggers me to take some time to think about where I am at, how the last year went, and where I want to go next. Last year, I set a goal to get my Open Water Diver certification. I had talked about wanting to dive for nearly a decade without ever once doing anything about it. In 2022, I decided enough is enough. This is happening now. Since getting certified in May 2022, I have dived in Egypt, Poland and Vietnam, logging a total of 567 minutes of dive time. Yes, being a certified diver means this level of precision. All this to say, I fell in love with diving and I could have already been diving for at least a decade. Why did I deprive myself of this pleasure?! It's not just diving where I've really wanted something, but for one reason or another didn't do anything about it. 2023 is about staying the course of this 2022 energy - lean more into the things that I truly want to do.
My big goal for 2023 is to lay the groundwork to start a cider company in Poland. Not to get too into the details, but there isn't easily accessible cider in Poland and my goal is to change that. This year I want to continue my cider making experiments, research the laws to sell cider in Poland, understand the current market, explore funding, and find business partners.
My first cider experiment from 2022.
I will, of course, continue my scuba diving adventures. My goal is to complete my Advanced Open Water Diver certification so that I can dive to a depth of 30 meters. I'd like to go to Egypt for my certification and then do a full week of diving where I can try diving on my first shipwrecks.
Diving in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Aside from goals, I am trying to focus on making some mental shifts. While watching the reality cooking show, The Big Brunch, Daniel Levy asked a contestant why they were self deprecating when speaking with the judges? This contestant was saying negative things about their cooking that none of the judges were thinking. What's the problem with that? Well, those judges might all of a sudden agree with them without ever having had that thought themselves. Often to hedge ourselves against potential future failure, we say self disparaging things like, "I am not that creative", "I am not that great a public speaker". Then, if we do fail, we can say, "told you so!" The funny thing is that most of the time the failure doesn't come to fruition. But those verbalized self disparaging ideas are now inside the heads of those who heard. I am so guilty of doing that. No more! Through more care and attention to my words, I will try to consciously stop this self sabotage.
Related to this is to lead with more confidence. If I believe in a decision because I've done the research, then my role is to inspire others to believe too. When you are a hesitant leader, it is perceived as a lack of belief and conviction, which makes those being led feel full of doubt. As a leader at work and outside of work, I have people to seek advice from to make good decisions. 2023 will be about getting good data, listening to others and using this as a way to make thoughtful decisions with confidence.
Finally, I am prioritizing action when I want to do something. Like testing a business idea, trying a hobby, etc. If I want to do it, I am going to do it. Life is short and I've procrastinated too much. No more!
I am wishing you a happy 2023 where you check off some of your bucket list items. Let me know in the comments below what your big goal is for the new year.
