Christmas is almost here! This week has felt really relaxing as I’ve been hanging out enjoying time with my family and loved ones.
There’s something magical about enjoying your own city when everyone is in the festive spirit and people are more relaxed.
Side note: How cool is the Hong Kong skyline?! I took this on the Star Ferry across the harbour the other day. #ilovehongkong
Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, the holidays are a great time to stop the busyness of everyday life, be grateful and assess whether you’re moving in the right direction towards your own personal goals.
I’ve always been a big new year’s resolution/goal setter and I believe that there are two missing keys to setting the “right” goals for you in the new year.
The Missing Key: Reviewing The Year Gone By
Before diving into the shiny, new energy of 2017, it’s imperative that we take stock of the good, the bad and the ugly of 2016.
Everything that’s happened this year has happened for a reason.
Yes, there’s always going to be a lot outside of our control.
BUT!
Equally there’s a lot that is within our control (namely how we react and respond to situations, scenarios and people).
Before going into 2017, I believe in assessing what we’ve learned and how we’re going to pivot and refine going forward.
Once you take a good look at 2016, celebrating and releasing everything that’s passed, then you clear the pathway for miracles and magic to come.
And who doesn’t want more of that?!
Taking the time out to use your mind to assess what’s happened in the past allows you to tune into the soul of what is working and what’s not in your life and career.
When you’re able to use your mind and soul together that’s a beautiful, beautiful thing and that’s when you find true alignment. Mmmmm.
Rather than have this be a super daunting and scary task, you can simply review the year gone by by asking 4 easy questions (time required: 10 minutes)
- What were your top 3 accomplishments over the past year? Why?
- What were your top 3 challenges this year? What did you learn?
- What will you do more of in 2017?
- What will do you do less of in 2017?
The rationale behind each of the questions is simple:
Question 1: What were your top 3 accomplishments over the past year? Why?
We can be really quick to discount all of our achievements, constantly focusing on what we need to improve. I believe in working with your zone of genius and reinforcing what’s already working. Plus you’re proving to yourself that there’s some good stuff going on in your life and you know how to achieve your goals. Sometimes we need to write this down and see it in order to believe it.
Question 2: What were your top 3 challenges this year? What did you learn?
There will always be events, circumstances and people in our lives that can seemingly make life difficult. It can be hard to face but I truly believe that the only thing we can do in these situations is ask ourselves how we want to handle it, how we can communicate better and what the lesson is in this situations.
For example, if you have a difficult boss and it’s been increasingly difficult to work together this year. Maybe you learned how to communicate better, or how to say no. Or perhaps there is still something there to learn….to have a frank and direct conversation about the situation, to stand up for yourself. There are many lessons to be learned. Don’t gleam over this step!
Question 3: What will you do more of in 2017?
The usual suspects are things like exercise, sleep, eating more vegetables. But I want you to think of what’s important to you. Look back to question 1, what lead you to your accomplishments? Were you doing something different with your health? Did you have a mindfulness practice? What were you doing that allowed you to create success? Add that to your list of things to do more of in 2017.
Question 4: What will you less of in 2017?
Too often we think that we have to do MORE in order to achieve more. But actually it’s imperative that we take things off our plate too because we can’t do it all.
Think of this mantra: Do Less, But Better.
How would that impact your life?
Perhaps you genuinely need to do less at work or maybe reduce the commitments you have after work.
You may even consider things like less complaining, less wallowing in negativity, less dwelling in a funk, speaking fewer mean words to yourself.
Don’t gleam over this step either. Asking myself this question has been a game-changer for me.
Now I’d love to hear from you.
Share in the comments below:
- Which question you are most excited about answering and why?
- Do you have any game-changing questions you ask yourself before closing out the year?
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas.
With love,
