Letter from a friend - Letter 9

Hello, my dear Friend,

I hope you can forgive me for not writing to you in so many weeks. I hope you are well and that the year 2024 is going as expected.

Speaking of plans, every year-end, I reflect on how the year went and set goals for each area of my life to improve and try to mature in every aspect.

Have you also taken a moment to reflect on which areas of life to improve? Have you set some goals?

Studies show that the first months of the year flow better, and most people can maintain consistency, but after a while, they struggle to continue.

We're already halfway through January. How is your consistency?

Today, I would like to comment briefly on this and help you with some tips to persist and maintain consistency in your goals.

One common mistake people make when setting yearly goals is setting overly general objectives. When we do this, even if these are things we really want to achieve, such as "Getting closer to God," "eating healthily," "exercising," we run the risk of not being able to execute them simply because we didn't add details to them, like a set time or a specific day. When something is not yet a habit, to make it one, you need to do it countless times, and marking a specific time helps a lot. Numerous studies show that people who make a specific plan for when and where they will perform a new habit are more likely to follow through. Many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. And the book I'm currently reading talks exactly about that, about the creation of habits. It's an excellent book, and I recommend reading it. It's called "Atomic Habits." 

Let me give you an example of some of my goals for you to analyze:

Date night once a week: Commitment to having some alone time. There may be more days, but we choose every Wednesday at least to take some quality time together.Read aloud with the boys, at least 20 minutes a day, every day in the afternoon snack.Workout, minimum 3 times a week or every day, before the kids wake up, from 5 am to 6:10 am.Daily spiritual reading, 20 minutes a day before bedtime.

So, I leave this tips for you to add and reflect on your personal goals as well. 

May the coming year be full of opportunities to grow, serve, and love.

With love

Libia Matheus