Q2.
Are you looking back at your Q1 goals and wondering why you didn’t complete what you set out to do?
Did you have New Year’s resolutions that you broke before putting a cork in January? Did your new diet, attitude, habit or hobby get thrown out the window on one of those bitterly cold days we experienced in Toronto? Or perhaps you live in a land without snow and ice, but you still froze in your self-development tracks.
In your work life, did you have a series of projects that felt doable and looked achievable on a Miro board or in a Slack channel that somehow fell apart right before your eyes? Did the leaks appear early in the hull of your expeditionary vessel before you could even put the mast and sails up?
I am sure you will agree with me when I say aloud: How is it April? Those words ring loud as you plan Q2, even though it is already two weeks old, and you assess your first quarter of this year entitled Twenty-Twenty-Two.
If you are strong enough to have achieved everything you set out to in Jan-Feb-March, you have little motivation to read on outside of attempting not to hurt my feelings. But if you are like me and put too many things up on the board, let’s discuss some solutions further.
In an attempt to practice what this blog is preaching, I will recommend one and only one idea for you to tackle for Q2. You can search elsewhere on how to set “S.M.A.R.T.” Goals or Objectives or Rocks or Milestones. There are more sources than you can imagine to help you learn, adapt, and hopefully maintain new habits. If weight loss is your primary goal, I can 1000% recommend the Noom App. Maybe you want to stave off old age, then read Younger Next Year. Missing something to celebrate? Go to a game or head to your local and make a new friend.
But if you are genuinely committed to taking down everything you need to in Q2, I suggest you focus on one thing only. Your Mental Health. Your Mental Health is the biggest threat to our existence in 2022. Think about it. You are stressed, your work is not getting any easier, and there are tsunamis of discontent around you. Watching Russia slaughter the people of Ukraine is horrifying. Witnessing Republicans attack Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson confirms that racism is a weapon that white people are happy to embrace. Your concerns over inflation, elections and housing affordability are not unfounded.
Plus, all around you are hearing horrifying stories of people’s mental health challenges. In everyday life, we all hear of the successful executive committing suicide. A friend of a friend is struggling with depression—a university student who can’t cope.
But what about you? Have you looked in on yourself? Are you strong enough to handle the world we live? Are you strong enough to support your loved ones? Are you strong enough for two, or maybe three, when someone with mental health challenges needs to lean on you?
The most unselfish thing in the world you can do is practice self-care. Somebody once said that You can’t love someone else until you can love yourself.
I implore you to set aside the planner. Park the time management tools. Push pause on the productivity podcast. Take a deep breath and look even deeper inside yourself; if you need help, celebrate the discovery, and seek it with your head held high.
If you believe you are 100% mentally fit, what is the plan to keep it that way? First, Journal and take notice of what is working every day. Then, celebrate your success every day. Finally, tell yourself you can do it every day.
Improving your mental health will improve every aspect of your health. It may even save your life.
It may even save the lives of others.