Photo credit: Glenn Carsten-Peters, unsplash.com
Happy New Year, and welcome to a year of possibilities. Regardless of how 2017 ended for you, the benefit of turning that calendar page to a new year is that you have an entire year ahead of you, ready for planning and action. Here are a series of questions to keep you focused and engaged in making 2018 a productive and meaningful year for you.
First, Take a Brief Look Back
While it’s not often healthy to dwell in the past, it is helpful to take stock and summarize how the past year went for you.
What were the high points of the year?
What did you do extremely well?
In what areas did you exceed your own expectations?
Did you meet or exceed your goals?
What were the top three lessons you learned from your experiences? (Include both career and life experiences)
Who provided you with valuable mentoring or coaching expertise and guidance?
If you could use one word to sum up 2017 for you, what word would it be?
Now, Look at This Moment Only
After you have reflected on the year that has just passed, now turn your attention to this moment…right now, today. Don’t even look at or think about tomorrow yet. Answer a few simple questions:
How are you feeling about yourself, your life, right now? (Good? Not so good? Not sure?)
If you could choose to do anything at this very moment, what would it be? (Is it something you usually do or rarely do?)
What are you most grateful for today? (Do you feel this way every day? Sometimes? Never?)
What person(s) are you coming into contact with today, and why? (Are there positive or negative feelings attached to that person/those people?)
In what way are you living your core values today?
What one word best describes your attitude today?
Last, Take a Look Ahead
Good for you. You have summarized the past year. You have taken a moment to value and appreciate how you’re feeling today. Now the fun begins…the future! The thing about life is, even if you have planned out everything in the finest detail, there are going to be unexpected twists, turns and events that can postpone or sidetrack your goals. How resilient or flexible will you be when that happens? How long will it take for you to get back on track?
Looking out across the next 12 months, what is the one big goal that you want to achieve this year?
If you took that big goal and divided it into 12 smaller chunks (by month), what would your plan look like?
Example: If your goal is to write a book (which is a big goal; I speak from experience), then what steps do you need to take between now (no book) to then (finished product in your hands)?
What resources will you need to accomplish your goals?
What mentoring or coaching services would you need to help you meet your goals?
Looking at December, 2018, if you were to look back on the year that has just passed, what would you like to say about your accomplishments?
I hope these questions have helped you to put into perspective the year that just passed, where you are today, and where you would like to be in 2018. May it be one of your best years ever.