Each year brings us life that depends on the decisions made the previous year. And each time a year comes to an end, I go back to the drawing board and reflect on what has been, what else is there to come and where else I can be next. The last quarter of each year is an indication that my goals for the year would have been met or even exceeded, and that the few more months are supposed to be for preparing for what’s left of the year and what to look forward to when new years’ eve come.
Here is the list of the best practices and insights from successful individuals who serve as an inspiration to me and hopefully to others too:
Think of where you are at the present
Where we are today are the products of our choices and decisions made in the past year. Personally, I make it a point to really reflect on the past year and see how well I planned it. Eventually, putting my plans into action can make or break the life I planned on enjoying this year.
Be Positive
High achievers also work to stay positive, always believe that it is important to keep negativity at bay. Find a quiet place and have a forgiveness session with those that you need to forgive which may be other people and even yourself. Because sometimes you are being too hard on yourself too. Positive thinking is a valuable tool that can help you overcome challenges, deal with pain and reach new goals. At the end of the day, remember to be kind always I believe this brings a positive aura and makes our lives better each day.
Attitude of Gratitude
Be thankful for the year that was and continue your attitude of gratitude for the years to come. You can try writing down every good thing you can remember from the past year, then write about what are things that can make you happy the next year. Research also tells us that gratitude has a measurable effect on achieving our goals so it would seem that counting our blessings is a good way to start a great year.
Remove the excess
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. You need to simplify by eliminating the excess. Simplicity, at its heart, comes down to eliminating the excess in our lives. Remember anything that is too much is harmful. Schedule a time to list your activities, projects, and commitment from the year, learn to cut down and remove the bottom 30%. This way, we get to focus on the things that have the biggest payoffs.
Excess needs, wants, possessions. The list goes on. Society tries to sell us on the idea that having more in our lives should be the goal and is the answer. But is it really improving the quality of our lives? I don’t think so, I think having a bigger purpose in life should be our life goals.
Setting compelling goals
Set goals that harness emotional energy. Most of the time, we have business plans at work. But very few do it for their personal lives. Personally, I try and influence my husband and kids to have goal setting for our family as well. A few big goals, maybe not more than three. What I do is, I group them into three in this particular order: family, work and personal development.
Prioritize
Listing goals, breaking it down, now prioritizing them. This gives us time to be highly focused on the right things, able to zone out the competing demands of lesser priorities. This entails serious time management from each of us.
Timelines
What gets scheduled gets done, this protects your time. I’m a solid advocate of following timelines, respecting other people’s time and putting things in order. By following the timelines also ensure that what's most important happens. Putting it in a calendar or a dream board to make it more visual with timelines and schedule help make things happen. Calendar your family goals, your work goals, and personal goals that include travels and days off.
Unplug for a time
Now this is by far the most important task for me before the year ends. I usually take time off the last week of December to unplug and unwind. Taking time away to refresh and recharge, plan vacations in advance you deserve it.
True, there are a lot of things to do for us to achieve a successful year. It’s not easy, but the best practices and insights above will come in handy. Well known and successful people disciplines show us what we can all follow to accomplish the things that matter most in our lives. It’s October, and it’s high time that we start on doing the list to plan, set goals and put our heart and soul to making things happen for next year. So when January comes we begin the new year with a bigger purpose in life and a clear direction.
** Inspired by “Achieve what matters most in 2017” by Michael Hyatt