It’s hard to believe that we are nearing the end of the year! It seems that everyone I speak to has the same thing to say:
“This year just seems to have flown by and I’m not sure I’ve achieved anything.”
Well, rest assured that if you are reading this, then you have achieved something – you have made it through yet another year. 12 months have gone by and you are still here. Still breathing.
The first question I have for you is, was that what you set out to achieve this year? That is, to still be here and to still be breathing. Was there something else you wanted to achieve, or did you end up living a year by default? By default, I mean that you simply went along with whatever came your way and let other people, events and circumstances dictate your experiences and your achievements.
And an even bigger question is: Do you want a repeat of the same for next year?
Now, although you will often hear me say that regrets are a waste of time – they cripple you in the present by keeping you stuck in the past – regrets can be used to help to guide you in making different choices for the future. You just need to be prepared to get analytical about them, rather than hold onto the emotions that are associated with them.
Remember – what’s done is done. It cannot be undone and really, there’s no point beating yourself up about something that you did or didn’t do in the past. That simply robs you of any joy you could be experiencing right now. But, what you can do is learn from what you’ve done and make different choices for the future.
So how do you do that?
Well, here’s an exercise to kick-start you for the new year.
- As you prepare for the new year, look back upon the past 12 months and list anything that you wish you could have done differently. Think about domains such as finances, health, career and relationships. Think about any goals you may have had which you missed.
- Make a list of the mistakes you made and what you learned from them so that you don’t repeat them.
- Set your new goals for the coming year. Propel yourself 12 months into the future and describe what you achieved. What would have happened over those 12 months to make you feel that satisfaction of knowing that life turned out just as you had imagined it? Again, cover the areas of finance, health, career and relationships. Life isn’t about a single domain – you’ll have results in all areas of life. What do you want those results to be?
- Examine your attitude over the past 12 months. Did it serve you? If not, decide on a different attitude that you’ll take on for the coming year.
- Decide on an action you will take to kick-start your new year. Schedule it into your calendar! Don’t wait for January. Make sure it is done in the month of December.
As my coaching mentor often says, “Some people get to live 90 years; but for most people, they live the same year 90 times.”
Make this coming year a year that you would absolutely love!
