With Christmas behind us and the New Year only a few days away, most people are focused on pushing you to articulate goals, make them SMART, purchase beautiful planners and enrol in goal planning workshops.
I’m going to encourage you to do something a little different. Now is the perfect time to reflect on the year that has been.
Record your achievements
Take a moment and write down five things that you have achieved this year. They may be big, they may be small. They may be related to business, they may be personal. They may seem trivial to others, but to you they represent an achievement. Here are mine:
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Overcome my fear of failure and started Meld Business Services
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Allocated time to enjoy writing
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Submitted articles to business websites
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Ran the City to Surf
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Attended every school assembly either of my children were involved in
Celebrate the successes
So now you have written down your achievements, take a moment to really comprehend what this has meant for you. For me it has meant giving myself the gift of doing something just for me (1-3), ticking off an item on a bucket list (4) and maintaining a balance in my life (5).
Celebrating doesn’t necessarily mean buying yourself a reward (although that is a perfectly valid option!). The process of identification and acknowledgement is reward in itself.
Acknowledge the failures
Identifying and celebrating successes are much easier than doing the same for failures. We tend to cringe at the thought of failure and sweep it under the carpet in an attempt to try and forget about them. Well, I want you to dust of that carpet and embrace the not so great moments of the year.
Think about these failures as little detours in your life. Think about what happened and how you could approach it differently next time. Failure does not equal hopeless.
Switch off
Many of us are lucky enough to have a break over the Festive Season. I encourage you to continue to enjoy this time with family and friends. As we know, once business starts cranking again, these precious people in our lives often don’t get the attention they deserve!
Enjoy the little moments. Read a magazine on the couch, play a board game with the children, explore a part of your city you have never been to.
If you can’t switch off (many of us struggle, I know!), then turn down the heat a little. Allocate an hour every day to do something that is not related to your business.
Hit the ground running
If you have been able to have some down time to recharge your batteries, then you will be able to hit the new year at full speed!
By all means write down your goals for the coming year. Even place them on the wall or in a place where you can see them every day. But remember, planning and goal setting should be a continual process, not something that is just visited once a year.
Also, remember it is important to take stock and to celebrate your achievements and milestones no matter how minor they seem. You’ve worked your behind off and deserve a pat on the back.
Here’s to an amazing 2017. I wish you every success in your endeavours and may all your dreams come true!
