Everybody is talking about New Year resolutions and New Year goals, but I think we should be talking more about New Year preparation. As in the famous quote: “Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation” – Zig Ziglar

We know that the New Year is going to bring us many new opportunities, so the question is: how can we be prepared to take advantage of these opportunities?

In order to answer this question, we can think about the many opportunities that we had in previous years, and the reasons that we were not able to enjoy them.

One possible reason is that we did not have the necessary skills. For example, perhaps we could have been promoted to a better position if we had more experience in a particular field. Then the question is how can we develop our skills in order to be prepared next time we have such an opportunity.

Another possible reason is that we lacked the necessary resources. For example, we did not have enough money to buy that apartment in a great location, or we did not have enough free time to go on a trip with our friends. Then the question is how we can have enough resources to seize such opportunities.

Please notice that this approach is less deterministic than making resolutions or defining specific goals. We can develop skills and accumulate resources that will enable us to benefit from a broad range of opportunities. We can invest in being prepared for a big diversity of possible scenarios.

So, for the year of 2024, instead of wishing you good luck, I will wish you a good preparation!