Dreaded Demons of New Year
Eat 12 Grapes on the bongs of the clock in the Puerta De Sol; kiss in Times Square; break plates in Copenhagen; throw a chair out your window in Cortona; invite a handsome man into your home for Hogmanay. No matter where you are, there are some amazing ways to ring in the New Year. What if one of your traditions is to doubt whether this year will be as good as last? Will you struggle, let your clients down, or maybe even let your family down financially or as a husband, father, son or sibling?
This used to be where I would finish the year as a commission-based salesperson and self-employed business owner, with employees and clients depending on me. Even worse, if the market was down then I had to deal with unhappy clients because their finances were dependent on decisions I had made. This negative self-talk sometimes brought me to crippling doubt, nervous outbursts and overreactions. This all happened during the happiest, most family-orientated time of the year. I am sorry if this is you, I feel your pain.
Your end of year traditions are the things that shape your next year. Here are the secrets that I have learned and continue to work on to make it all a little bit easier. (Confession: it’s still not always easy.)
We need to have plans, but not too many. I am a huge fan of 3s and here is what I use to ensure I can keep the monsters of misery at bay. First thing is to write down 3 things you are thankful for this year.
Here are 3 things I’m thankful for:
1. Successful launch of 3 new programmes and clients which has brought in new team members and paid for our new house
2. Family time! I’ve had holidays for more than a month and a half worth of tours and fun all over Europe with my wife, kids, parents, sister and friends. These are the experiences that I work so hard to create
3. The advice and work my team has done helped change the lives of more than 100 families through work and charities we support
Some surprises suck, so the next thing is to think of 3 dreaded things that could get in the way of you repeating this year’s successes, or the things that may have hindered this year’s successes. This is how we turn roadblocks into small hurdles. Awareness, practice and planning are the triple crown to combating the self-doubt. I have kept it simple, but the more in depth you make it the easier it will be to kick these devils to the kerb.
My 3 Dark Demons:
1. People don’t understand my value, so they won’t pay the prices my services are worth
2. The economy will slow down and people will not want to spend money on what I deliver
3. Clients will leave me
The final step is to create a list of 3 things for you to do that will allow you to have more of the things that you are thankful for. Make a list between your Thankful list and the Dread list. This is the most powerful link that you can make to push the self-doubt demons out the door!
3 ways I can banish the Bad Thoughts:
1. I’ve created an equation for energy time and focus so I can measure my engagements with clients, employees and community to make sure I’m maximising what I put in and what I will get in return
2. I cannot control the economy. What I can control is how I make my work-day effective. Energy at high levels cannot be maintained so you need to allocate specific times for all the aspects of your life in a day. (Lots of example of this on my podcast, Grow, Sell and Retire, available on Spreaker and iTunes) This does not mean you’ll only work for 3 hours a day, but making sure you have 3 HUGE hours a day
3. Contact your clients with great ideas monthly — don’t wait to get this going! This isn’t about selling. Make sure that your ideas are about them as people and not just revenue generators
Mental health awareness is more prevalent than ever. Being an entrepreneur comes with a lot of pressure and stress that, more often than not, goes unspoken. This is why there are so few people starting businesses in comparison to the ones that are seeking employment. Loneliness is the spirit of Christmas Past and now you need to surround yourself with plans, people and success.
Whether you’re spending your new year eating grapes, smashing plates or inviting handsome men round for dinner, your traditions are the things that make you. Now, let’s create some 3s that will help you blow out the ghosts of Christmas Past and soar into the new year!
By the way, you can do this at any time of the year, it’s not time-dependent. Whenever the Demons of Doom appear, use this tool and you will be on track.
