Every year, I meet clients who close down and have a party during the holidays, only to begin again in January. I a somewhat disappointed because they couldn’t have a better beginning. They might even set a few goals and then forget or quit in February. I’ve experienced this myself. However, I’m determined to do it differently this year. I’d like you to be part of my team to begin the year with a productive reflection and planning time.
1. Start the year specific about where you’re beginning your year and how you want to finish it.
Take a moment to reflect on the year that you’ve completed. Do you feel it’s important to take a moment to examine the progress you’ve achieved? If things don’t go as we would like or as we planned and then gaze out at the sky and become frustrated because we’re unable to get there. What to do? We are frustrated, and we turn our wheels, feel overwhelmed, throw things at the wall, and quit.
The solution would be to stop and then turn around and examine your progression.
Question What improvements have you made? What do you feel most proud of? What lessons have you picked up? What did you find to work? What didn’t?
Make your vision. Once you are done looking over your work, begin the work that is necessary to create your Vision for 2015. You can ask yourself:
In 12 months’ time in the future, when would need to be done before you are satisfied with the result?
2. Choose who you would like to be before you decide what you’ll do.
A few years ago, my mastermind group put the following query to me. I stated that I would like to contribute as a member of an intellectual and innovative community. Would you like to know what response I received? “You already are, Ruth!” It was an inspiring moment for me as it didn’t matter what I was doing. It was about who I was.
The realization made me recognize the things I needed to alter to align with what I wanted to be. No matter how important our vision is, being able to step into our true potential or the person we truly are can be liberating.
3. Make sure you are accountable for your dreams.
Consider this What do you think? On a scale from 1-10, how dedicated are you to achieving your goals for 2015?
If the answer is five, what would it take to bring it to the level of a ten? If you’re not really dedicated to your goal, then why is that? What would you really like to do?
This isn’t about slamming objectives. I don’t want you to be a slave to anything. I want this to be easy for you. If you’re not adamant about your own vision, then revisit your idea and explore ideas over and over. Don’t be able to tolerate a lack of commitment.
Here’s another reason to be thankful: There are numerous obstacles to overcome. We are, in the main, the obstacle. When things get difficult, we tend to undermine ourselves. The closer we are to achieving our goals, the closer to our own genius, and the more our inner voice shouts “Danger.” We know precisely how to press our emotional buttons.
However, there’s more. There is a need for a plan of preservation for how you’ll think about when you run into those obstacles, and your voices are screaming for help.
When we are scared or procrastinate, lose ourselves in our busyness, or make excuses for our brilliance, genius, and vision, it is important to make a plan. Who do you call? What do you do? What can you do to shift your perspective?
4. Collaborate
The question is: Which brain, genius, or knowledge are you looking for to assist you in achieving your goals in 2015?
It could mean expanding or changing your team. Sometimes, we are not the right members of our team. And the moment you’re making plans is the best time to acknowledge that you have to change your ways.
In many businesses, we don’t have the brains or creativity of our teams in a meaningful manner. Collaboration doesn’t always depend on the person you choose to hire. It’s synergy. It’s recognizing your personal potential and adjusting your perspective to be your best self often, and making use of the other brains around you. It is sharing knowledge.
Here are some suggestions to hire in-house, virtual, or for specific projects. Form partnerships professionally or with friends or companies.
Highly-performing people realize that they cannot achieve their goals by themselves. They need an independent perspective to help them become the best they can be.
The key to ensuring that your motivation lasts throughout the entire year, and not just as an annual resolution which will fade in February:
5. Create Movement
People who are successful start the new year fully clear of what they’ve learned and how they’d like the year to come to an end.
They don’t allow it to happen. They design their dream. They then design the steps to achieve it.
They enter that future with the person they wish to be, not only what they plan to fulfill.
They know where they’ve fallen in the past, and they know what obstacles and roadblocks they’re likely to meet. They have a plan in place for when difficulties arise because they will.
They recognize their own weaknesses as well as their strengths and weaknesses. This helps them discover their talents in order to work with others.
Get a mentor. Get a coach. Join an online mastermind group.