As the days get closer to Christmas I start to dream about next year.
I get very excited about new goals and the possibility of what is ahead. I get very optimistic and like to dream big. I picture the new year as a big blank slate full of potential. I wanted to share some of my steps with you. I have merged some things from Jennie Allen’s Dream Guide, Michael Hyatt’s LifeScore Assessment, and The One Thing by Jay Papasan
One thing I love to do first is to look back at all that has happened this past year.
I grab my last year’s guide and it helps me think through everything that went on from a goal perspective. I then usually grab my planner and look through the months to see what events happened. Then I look through my journal at all that was going on with me. I then like to put a year in review with bullet points of all that God has done in me and through me and around me. WOW… so much happens in a year.
I want you to be aware that your lower brain may try and focus on all that you DID NOT accomplish that you set out to do. It may heighten the thinking about failing, or not doing enough. Be quick to remember that it is not in achieving the goal that makes you a better person. It is who you become as you work towards your goals. You have to become someone different to create something in your life that you have never done before.
Another great thing to do is to really investigate why some of your goals didn’t happen and others did. Take an inventory of why it didn’t happen so you can use that information for this upcoming year, and learn from it. Did you not revisit your goals, so you forgot you wanted to read 10 books. If so maybe make it a habit to look over them every quarter or month. Did you set out to save a certain amount of money this year and you had some car issues that blew through savings. Really take the time to learn all that you can from the “fails”. These can actually be great teachers for you.
I then like to look at four areas of my life: Spiritual/Relational/Personal/Vocational & Money.
I have specific questions for each category to get me thinking about where I want to be and what it would take to get there. I also pull out my 5 outcomes (for those of you that did the 5 Day Challenge) to make sure I am in line with what I really want my life to be about.
This next step is very new to me. This is the part that life coaching has really helped with. Next to each goal I write out how I would feel if I accomplished the goal. Because the reason I want to do anything is because of how it will make me feel. So if my goal is to call my mentor every week, I know that if I accomplish that I will feel connected to her. Knowing that I want to feel connected to her can really help in the actual doing of the tasks to accomplish the goal. So, when I see “call mentor” on my planner, I think, “I want to be connected to her.” And most of the times that feeling will drive me to calling her which will keep me connected to her.
Take some time with your goals and see why you want to accomplish them and how you will feel when you do. Those feelings will be very important to use in your favor as you spend 12 months moving towards a new version of you.
In each area I like to decide who I will have to become to accomplish those goals. If one of my goals is to have a 5am start to the day, then I would have to become someone who goes to sleep by 10pm every night. Who would I have to become to really do that? I would need to be intentional during the hour of 9pm-10pm. I would need to be able to say goodbye or goodnight when I needed to, so disciplined. I would need to not worry what other people thought about me going to bed, so confident . I would need to have a reason to get up at 5am, so planned. I would need to know what I was doing when my alarm went off, so focused. I would need to be someone who doesn’t push the snooze button, so committed. I would need to be excited about my personal time for me in the morning, to get me continuously waking up. You get the gist. I would have to become someone that I am not currently, and that my friends is the work we get to do.
This is where it gets hard. You are used to doing what you have always done. Your lower brain wants you to be efficient so it likes to run the old programming that you have always run. So if you always snooze, your brain will do that. You have to put in new beliefs, ones that you have never believed before and then you have to practice them. So if you always snooze, you get to start with the thought, “I am becoming someone who doesn’t push the snooze button.” Or “There are people out there that don’t push the snooze button and I could be one of those people.” “A person who doesn’t push snooze has learned how to deal with the discomfort and desire for sleep, and get up anyways.” You will have to find the thoughts that work for you but you know you believe the thoughts when you start seeing the action you really want. So, if you want to be someone who gets up right away you need to believe you can do that, and then practice different thoughts until you get that result.
Goal setting and thinking intentionally on who you want to be is really an amazing experience. Give yourself the gift of sitting down and thinking over this past year. Take the time to celebrate all that has happened and learn from what didn’t work. Then get out a blank sheet of paper and dream all about next year and who you really want to become and what goals will push you to becoming that person.
I can’t wait for what is ahead!
Angie
A lot of life happens unintentionally. You just go through the motions and you can become unaware of why you are doing what you are doing. You start thinking I should…… a lot. That feels awful, but you don’t really know how to change it. Well, I give you some practical ways to shift your thinking and go from obligation and judgment to hope and opportunity. Check it out!