I know most of the people I work with are in super-duper planning mode, and in case you are also at that point and you’re thinking you didn’t get a lot done this year, you missed a lot of goals, or didn’t accomplish certain things, this exercise might help you to really shift your perspective on things and really get you moving in the right direction for 2020. I walked my one-on-one clients through this just last week, and I do it every year because it really helps to process things and set you up for success in the next year. You can even do this on a quarterly basis to stay focused throughout the year.
The first of the three steps I have for you is to reflect on the past. We don’t want to stay there or let it define us, however we do want to learn from it. When things don’t go the way we want them to go, we always look at what went wrong and dwell on it. Instead of getting stuck in that place, take a look at what kinds of things happened: what worked, what didn’t, big wins, and missed opportunities. What lessons did we learn? Also, look at the things you gave attention to that maybe aren’t in alignment with your vision. Get all of these thoughts together and write them all down so you can physically see all of your accomplishments but also failures so you can let them go and turn them into lessons you’ve learned.
The second is to assess the present. What do you have going on right now? What is happening in your industry? Are you making changes to your team? What gaps need to be filled? When we look at the things that our current situation needs work on is where your business has the opportunity to grow. Look at the things that might be holding you back from this growth and take action to rectify them. Be willing to try things you never thought possible that maybe other people have not yet thought to do. Carve your own path by taking risks that set your business apart. Zig when everyone else is zag-ing. Personally, I’ve set a few pretty big goals for myself this year. One of them is to apply for my very own Ted Talk and the other is to finish the book that I’ve been writing. Both of these are difficult things, but I decided that I’m going to put myself out there and I’m going to figure out how to achieve them. Be willing to do things differently.
The third and final exercise I implement is to plan for the future. Ask yourself what an amazing 2020 would look like. Take the time to sit down and really define what success means to you and your business, because each person’s definition varies depending on what they want out of life. Whether it’s fiscal growth, impacting the lives in your community, whatever that may be, visualize it. Make the decision that you are going to be a big deal in 2020. This whole entire year I’ve been focusing on how I can show up differently. I know what success looks like to me, so how do I need to show up to achieve this? From there I lay it all out for myself, I dream big, I get my team organized, and really put together some amazing stuff.
If you take this 3-step process of reflecting on the past, assessing the present, and planning for the future, you can have a clearer idea of what it is you want and how to go about getting it moving forward.
