Setting Rich Goals for the New Year: Winning the Battle Against Perfectionism

It's that time of year, when we plan to accomplish a million things (oh, it's just me? Okay.) in the new year. We say, "I'm gonna go to the gym at least five times a week", or "I'm gonna not eat McDonald's for six months". And I can tell you right now, in the past few years - those kind of resolutions are shaky by Martin Luther King day (a day on, not a day OFF - btw), on life support by Valentine's Day, and all but dead by Easter. 

What causes us to abandon our goals and ambitions? 

The silent voice that we empower in our minds! Let me just tell you a little something about that voice. Let's just call it Donald. Donald is really a loser. He tells you that everything you do must be perfect. He tells you that you must be the perfect son, perfect friend, perfect brother, perfect singer/actor/dancer/pianist. He tells you not to put out your original music because black audiences will think it's too white, and white audiences will think it's ghetto. He reminds you of all the jokes you've heard about your body, the really mean ones like, "you walk funny" or "you're so skinny, do you eat?" or "you could drive a truck through your front teeth". He points out the fact that your face is less symmetrical than everyone else's. 

He turns up the heat in your personal relationships. Donald says, "people don't like you. You're weird. You don't fit in anywhere. You can't show all of yourself because they won't accept that part of you. You are supposed to be perfect, and you're FAILING." 

Well, you know what? 

F*ck Donald. 

Don't feed him. Starve him out. Don't be afraid of challenging those thoughts! We are rolling into the new year with confidence, boldness, and most importantly - STRATEGY. 

For example, one goal that I have for the year is to read 100 books. So I have created a Twitter hashtag: #RichReads, and will be posting which book and what number it is in the sequence. 

Another goal is to gain about 20 pounds in a healthy way. I hover around 180 on a good day, and want to make it to around 200. My plan of action has been to get to the gym 5 days/week, and stop eating McDonald's. The next step is to start cooking healthier foods, and eating more consistently. 

My biggest goal for the new year is to put myself out there, musically and socially. I am eternally grateful for friends that have been pushing me to just do it. And while I have was initially resistant, those friends were persistent and helped me see what I needed to do.

You don't have to be perfect. Don't let perfectionism hold you back! Stop the second guessing yourself, and cut the unnecessary shaming voice (remember Donald?) out of your life. 

Thanks for reading. If you want to be apart of the journey, follow me on my social network platforms:

FB: Richard Baskin | IG: road.to.richland | Twitter: @roadtorichland | SC: richdollaz | YouTube: Richard Baskin Jr. (content is about to be poppin', so make sure you visit that platform when I tell you to!)