A huge source of happiness and fulfillment comes from making progress toward a meaningful goal. Whether it’s an incremental success or a big breakthrough, experiencing progress on something that really matters to you creates the fuel for fulfillment. Yet every year, we are inundated with articles about how to set New Year’s resolutions that actually work, or we read lots of headlines on why they don’t work. I sat down to talk with Grandmaster Tony Morris, owner of Asheville Sun Soo Martial Arts, to discuss the power of finishing the year strong. We chatted about avoiding the trap of setting goals that just hang out on a list and never materialize … and how to create the 2023 you desire.

Sandra Bilbray: I love the thought of finishing a year strong because it’s an empowering way to start 2023.

Grandmaster Morris: The beginning and end processes are particularly impactful, as they are the same points on a circle. If you end the year really strong, you will begin a new year at that same strong point. What you want to achieve next year will be harder if you end the year weak. It’s like getting a rhythmic cadence going, a metronome. Stay strong to start strong.

SB: Where do we go wrong with New Year’s Eve resolutions?

GM: Goals stated without the detail of execution are just vague notions and won’t sustain. Most resolutions are doomed from the start because they are just too vague. Create a framework and structure. Develop a dependable and regular process for each goal.

SB: What can we all do to make 2023 different?

GM: Deploy the resonance effect. For anyone to make progress in anything, you need a clear set of tools and a clear structural format. The discipline of regular practice is critical. The elements of practice are structure, discipline, intentionality, clear goals and a high level of awareness. Ensure you have a feedback loop. The resonance effect (compound effect) is when our return on the same investment gets bigger and bigger over time.

SB: Why is mastering the fundamentals so important?

GM: We are going to get really good at the things we do or practice repeatedly. Once you get good at something, you know how to get good at anything.

SB: Every time we talk, I notice how you have unusual clarity. How important is clarity in achieving our goals?

GM: Being clear allows us to use all of our available energy. If some of our energy is caught up in confusion, then we are getting energy sucked off the top. Say, for example, I am clear on wanting to lose 10 pounds. I have to be able to say: This is how I am going to do it. I need to be clear about the goal and the process. Now I can spend my energy on execution. If you’re unclear, you aren’t ready to start anything. All over the place doesn’t work. This is when you have people saying, “My method doesn’t work.” Put in another context, your car knows exactly where to go when you input an address with the GPS. Now there’s clarity about what route to take.

SB: It seems like so many people, particularly young people, are more anxious than before. Anxiety can certainly derail goals or prevent even setting them. What do you think the solution is to reducing anxiety?

GM: Very simply, it's to be right here, right now. When we are anxious, we often are reliving emotionally something that has already happened in the past or we are imagining something that might happen in the future. Most right-this-minute situations don’t carry an anxious element to them. If I am fully present, I am safe. If I’m anxious in ordinary circumstances, it’s because I am not present in that moment.

Every day we teach kids and adults how incredibly powerful they are. We give them choices on what adjustments they want to make in their practice. Choosing feels good. If I am engaged in the here and now, it’s grounding. When you’re ungrounded, you’re super vulnerable to any suggestion.

What the pandemic did is remove people from their social network. It’s like a tree without roots. Trees with root systems are solid above ground. Being plugged into a lot of different human beings has a stabilizing and grounding effect to weather other things. When people lose their network of stability and are isolated, they become more withdrawn and unstable and anxious. Everyone needs real relationships.

SB: Thank you for the tools and practices outlined here. Now we can all build our momentum to go into 2023 strong!

Clearing clutter can significantly improve mental clarity. Grandmaster Tony Morris said he once heard, “The amount of clutter you have is a direct reflection of your lack of decision-making.”