It’s the new year, but we have to look back to move forward. It’s time to recap the year and plan for the year ahead. I know I have a goal getter mindset that is determined to achieve my goals. It’s not going to just happen. We have to stop sitting on the sidelines of our life and waiting for something or someone to push us into the action. You have to pursue what you want, it’s not just going to smack you in the face even if it is right in front of your nose. Don’t be so busy waiting for it to happen to you that you don’t realize when it’s there waiting for you to just take it!
I challenge you to take some time to reflect on the past year. How honest can you be with yourself? Can you get introspective and reflect on your year? Some questions are going to be easy to answer. Others, however, will require thought if you want to get to the hard truths that could lead you to find the answers of why you haven’t reached your goals in the past. I know this exercise has been challenging for me and cathartic as well. Pen to paper with brutal honesty always makes me realize my strengths and my flaws. That honesty make me motivated to improve upon my life and helps me to develop my plan for my self growth.
The following are the questions I use when recapping my month and making my assessment of myself. I just expand on them for the year in review. My answers to these questions help me to formulate my goals for the next set of questions.
- Overall this year I felt:
- My highlights from 2021?
- How can I improve in 2022?
- What lessons did I learn in 2021?
- What goals did I want to achieve in 2021?
- Did I reach my goals?
- If no, what stopped me? If yes, how did I do it?
- What was I most thankful for in 2021?
- My strengths this year were:
- My challenges this year were:
- This year I was most proud of:
That is the same layout I use each month in my personal journal. The next set of questions will be how to format your goals for the new year.
- What do I expect this year?
- What do I want? {really want not the bs you think you’re supposed to say.}
- What goals do you have for the year?
- What plan do you have to reach them?
- Why are these goals important for you to reach?
- How will your life change once you reach these goals?
- What challenges do you foresee that could halt your progress? What is your plan to overcome them?
- How much time are you planning to commit to reach these goals?
- How will you keep yourself accountable and track your progress?
- How do you plan to stay motivated?
It’s important to remember that it’s not a goal if it is dependent on an outside factor. A proper goal is not ‘to get a raise’ however, you can say ‘I will be on time to work each day, complete my job duties to the best of my abilities and increase my sales by 3% over last year’. You now have a great set goals that will, when achieved, have the foundation to support why you deserve a raise. I hope that makes sense!
Now, go make some time and get ready to go after your goals. You are the key ingredient to your own success, but you are also the number one obstacle that stands between you and that same success. It’s all about progress, not perfection. Resolutions are broken usually by February, but goals those are more concrete and though they evolve they remain priorities throughout the year! Stay positive! You’ve got this! ☮️❤️😊~M
