Why finding a mentor is the one new year’s resolution that should actually stick

It’s that time of year again when we can feel a certain pressure to overload ourselves with promises of new year’s resolutions.

There’s an expectation to start the new year with a fresh mindset, new perspective, more organised, less stressed out, ready for anything and better prepared for everything life throws our way.

And that’s after the festive period. A generally stressful time of year where we’ve piled pressure on ourselves to clear our ‘to-do’ lists before the year’s out.

And now, we’re back at our desks feeling a little…deflated? Understandable.

So, the last thing we need is to set ourselves sixteen different goals, then pile the pressure on ourselves to achieve them all by the end of 2022.

Given that you’re not a robot, that’s probably going to lead to burn-out pretty quickly.

Of course, taking time to breathe, take stock and focus on how the previous year has gone for you and review things you’d like to change this year is important.

Reflecting on what you really want to achieve and setting yourself two or three clear goals will help give you some clarity, if, like me you’re someone who sets themselves an inordinate number of tasks to do each day and then feel frustrated when you’ve finished none. (Yes, I’m also that person who has sixteen internet tabs open at once…)

But what is it that you really want to achieve this year? Or you might know what your goal is but you’re not sure how to get there. Discussing this with a mentor can help you gain a new perspective and find you some clarity.

We spoke to women from the Meat Business Women community who told us that they can find it difficult to prioritise their own goals. They feel that investing time into their career through mentoring is a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than an essential part of their career journey.

In-between managing day-to-day work commitments, meetings, family time and, well, actually resting, it can be hard to see where a mentor relationship would easily slot in.

When the reality is that having a mentor might be the key to achieving exactly what you want this year.

A mentor will work with you to help:

• Clearly identify what the really important goals are you want to achieve this year.
• Plan out what you need to do in order to achieve your goals
• Set out realistic timescales for achieving these.
• Set milestones along the way that you can use to monitor your progress, keep you on track and help you see results sooner.

From a career perspective, that’s all good news, right?

But a mentor can also support you, share their experiences and give you new perspectives on a more personal level too developing a great connection that leads to friendship. And who doesn’t want an honest opinion from a great friend?

When we asked our community about their mentor relationships, they told us that getting insights from women with years of experience in the industry was totally invaluable. “Nothing negative can possibly come from it!”

So, instead of prescribing to the new year’s resolutions that seem to fall by the wayside and deplete your motivation, invest an hour a month, (or even 30 minutes) into a mentor relationship that’s going to build you up and give you the support you might not know you even needed.

That one thing that you really want to achieve this year? It’s do-able. Go and make it happen with the backing of a mentor!

The Meat Business Women mentor scheme is included as part of your membership package. Find out more and become a member here.