Welcome to 2020 – a brand new decade! Have you set yourself New Year Resolutions and goals? I know a lot of you are busy reading, dreaming and planning what you want to be, do and have.
Optometrists look at our 20/20 vision, which is the clarity or sharpness of vision at a distance. It doesn’t mean you have perfect vision. There are parallels here thinking about your future vision and indeed when you start visualising what you want for yourself it may feel quite hard to do … but as you return to this place and explore it further with all your senses it will gradually come into focus. What are you doing, seeing, smelling, hearing and even tasting?
Before you catapult yourself into the future, remember to review your past year … celebrate your highlights and learn from your lows. If you pause a moment to self-reflect you draw on and reinforce memories, encourage creativity/flow and are in a much stronger position to plan. A staggering 80% of New Year Resolutions have been broken by February.
Take yourself to a conductive environment free from disruption and surround yourself with everything you need – perhaps this is a journal, diary, your vision board, stationary. Make yourself a nice drink to stay hydrated and consider your lighting and possibly music. Now you’re ready to go …
1. Across priority areas in your life (career, personal, family & friends, finance):
· What went well?
· What didn’t go as well as you would have liked?
· What have you learnt?
As you think about your past year, remember to be kind to yourself and embrace the opportunity for learning and growth.
2. What areas of your life made you happiest in 2019?
This is a great way to re-live some of your highlights. Who were you with? What were you doing e.g. does it relate to your personal or work life? What was it in particular that made it so fulfilling and a stand out memory?
3. What was your biggest challenge in 2019 and how did you overcome it?
This question encourages you to flex your muscle and build your ‘bounce-back-ability’ or resilience. So what did you do exactly to address it and how might you use these skills going forward?
4. Where did you spend most of your energy and time?
We all have the same 24 hours in a day and mastering this precious commodity is about being purposeful with your time… a subject I have blogged about previously. Be honest with yourself as you consider this question and acknowledge to what extent this fit with your priorities and values (those things that you hold dear to you).
5. Do your medium and long terms goals still make your heart sing?
You will have had many accomplishments in 2019. When you look at the longer term goals you set yourself now, do they excite and energise you? Goals aren’t set in stone and should be reviewed, fine-tuned and even thrown out. You may have a new passion or your circumstances may have changed. Whatever the reason, listen to your heart and head, plan , hold yourself to account and take action.
6. How did you express your own needs to others?
Think about your own needs rather than tending to those of others for a moment. How would you say you voiced these to family, friends and colleagues? What did you need to convey and what did you in reality? What would you perhaps do differently next time?
7. What relationships did you forge, enhance or simply maintain?
We all long to be part of a community, family, gang and feel a sense of belonging. Reflect on how connected you have felt this past year and in which interactions you have vested your energy. Spend a moment to think about what new relationships you might like to build and where you may benefit from enhancing others.
To maximise your chances of living a life you love, decelerate before you accelerate.
In Part 2, we’ll focus on goal setting and cranking up your chances of success. See you then and in the meantime, hopefully there is plenty of food for thought!