Finishing Strong

It’s almost December. How’s that list of goals you came up with in January? Have you ticked them all off the list? Or are you well behind schedule?

If you’re in the latter position (like most men at this time of the year), then don’t worry. You still have time, and there are ways to catch up and achieve your goals before the year ends. Here are three year-ending things I do to help me “win the year,” no matter how far behind schedule I might be.

#1: Give It All You Got

Imagine you were an NBA player. It’s Game Seven of the Finals, fourth quarter, and time winding down. It’s a close, close game. What do you do?

It doesn’t matter if you’re leading or trailing—you’re going to go all out. You’re going to grind like you’ve never done before. You’re going to hustle, think on your feet, and defend like a madman. You’ll do whatever it takes to get the W and win the championship.

Likewise, December is your Game Seven, fourth quarter. You’re not going to relax and think, “Nah, I’ll do better next season.” You’re not going to let your victory slip away without a fight.

So give it all you got. Inevitably you’ll get a few days to chill at the end, so don’t worry about burning out – just grind. That’s the key. And you’ll make December the best month of your year.

#2: Clear the Air

Did you have a falling-out with anyone during the year? Is your strained relationship with that person hampering your efforts to achieve your goals in any way? If so, then it might be time to have a chat and clean the air with them.

My advice: Just apologize. Even if it wasn’t your fault, you can apologize to that person for ruining their year. Just reach out, offer to fix things. Don’t wait for the apology you probably won’t get anyway.

It’s Holiday season, anyway—so let it slide! It’s time to get things moving again—if nothing else so that your January will take off more smoothly and stress-free.

Alternatively—if you don’t have a beef with anyone, then just do something you’ve been putting off all year. Get it out of the way before the year ends.

#3: Give Up Vices for 28 Days

Do you have a vice that’s been slowing you down and holding you back all year? It could be:

• Bad/unproductive relationships with people

• Watching too much TV

• Playing too many video games

• Being on Facebook too much

• And other time and energy killers

Think about your vice(s) for a moment.

Now commit to giving them up cold-turkey for 28 days.

That way, you can focus 100% of your time and energy on catching up on your goals.

If you find that daunting, here’s what I can tell you—it’s only hard in the beginning. As you settle into a routine, it gets easier FAST. And besides, you have the last three days of the year to chill—you can indulge in them then if you want.

The great thing is that most times, after giving something up for 28 days, you end up giving it up for good. 28 days is enough to get yourself clean of most addictions. So there’s a pretty good chance you’ll start the new year clean—not a bad deal if you ask me!

Now go ahead – finish the year strong.

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