With the New Year comes the promise of a fresh start and the desire to push our boundaries to become the best versions of ourselves. Take a break from the pace of the holiday season to reflect on the year that has passed and set intentions for the year to come with one of our favorite New Year’s exercises.
Completing the Old
Many of us are so focused on setting goals for the future, that we forget to take a moment to acknowledge and learn from the past. We begin this exercise by “completing the old” so that you can create space for the right things to show up in your life in the coming year.
Step 1. Reflect on the past year, looking at all areas of your life. Think about your career, relationships, health, finances, and creative pursuits.
Make a list of all of your wins, successes, and breakthroughs. Don’t forget to count the small wins. Simply figuring out ways to manage your stress counts as a success!
Then, write down all of your losses, disappointments, and breakdowns.
Regardless of whether the item is a “win” or a “loss”, you are not as likely to take on the next opportunity in your life unless you are complete with past accomplishments and disappointments.
Step 2. Next, choose 5-7 lessons that you’ve learned over the past year that you want to remember and consciously take into the coming year.
Creating the New
Now it’s time to shift your focus to creating the new!
Step 1. Begin by imagining ahead to December of next year. Write a list of your wins, successes and breakthroughs for the year. Be specific and write them as though they have already happened, once again taking each area of your life into consideration. Right now there are a lot of factors such as shutdowns and restrictions on public gatherings that are outside of your control. When setting goals for the coming year, we recommend that you focus on what you do have control over and make self-care a priority.
Step 2. Once you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve in the coming year, ask yourself – What do you need to say “Yes” or “No” to in order to make your vision a reality?
Based on this vision, reverse engineer a step-by-step plan to reach your goals (we recommend using the S.M.A.R.T approach to goal-setting). Be sure to build in measures to keep yourself accountable. Let’s make this your most fulfilling year yet!
Are you ready to step up your leadership game next year? Learn how HNS can support you in unleashing your leadership potential.
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