The first thing you need to do is get a pen and paper. The first process is to acknowledge and appreciate what happened last year. This process is to get you to look back on your past year and write your responses to the following two questions: 1. What did I accomplish? 2. What were my biggest disappointments? After you have honestly and completely answered these questions reflect back on the last year and think about what you have learned this year? These life lessons will help you achieve the goals you set for this year. Answer the question: 3. What did I learn? These three questions are already helping you form the results you will want to achieve this next year. The next positive internal focus for producing results comes in thinking about yourself and your goals it will help empower you to succeed. You will create a transformation when you place your self at the center of your life, creating your world rather than letting circumstances dictate your success. You create a new reality and power to create a new you! The fourth question to answer is: 4. How do I limit myself? Also, ask yourself this question? In which areas of my life am I not achieving what I want? The last question to ask yourself in this area is: What do I say about myself to explain these failures? This is very difficult but when you are honest with yourself and put this information on paper it allows you to see what is stopping you from creating your best year yet! Just list each question and write, don’t over analyze the why, just let your conscious mind help you in answering each question. This is being true to whom and what you really are.
The last area to complete this week is to think about what’s most important to you in your life. What are the hidden drivers behind your most tangible goals? What values do you demonstrate in your life? When we identify our personal values they will provide the strongest motivation for change and achieving the goals we most want to achieve. These personal values should be the words that are most central to your life like: integrity, honesty, compassion, keeping my promises, loving, caring etc. 5. Write down your personal values? List all of your personal values and then review them and write a clarifying statement for each value. When we clarify our values we can see ourselves “living” those values and we increase our probability of making an integral part of our daily life. By writing a clarifying statement it gives us a verbal picture, becomes the vision or target and it helps us understand what we need to do. Let me give you an example of a clarifying statement.
Value: Teamwork
Clarifying statement: I work collaboratively with others and positively contribute in a way that will help move my team forward.
Take time this week and complete the first 5 questions, this will give you the foundation you need to set the goals that are most important to you in 2013. In the next blog we will give you the 5 questions that will allow you to draft the goals you will ACHIEVE in 2013! I am a firm believer people who set goals are more likely to achieve them because they know where they are going!
Have a GREAT day!
Gary
Here’s a quote I coined:
“GOALS: Are like having your headlights on,
because you know where you are going.”
