Let’s make this year your best year yet – and let’s get started with some quick reflection and tips so that you can achieve your desires as well as enjoy the journey as much as possible. My motto for this year is to: “Do what you can, while you can” – time goes quickly so let’s be selective in how we spend it.
As you’re now starting the new year and thinking about a new direction for your life, it’s time to set some new goals. And these goals should come in the form of outcomes. Too often we create big to-do-lists – these are really never ending and can become time-consuming or overwhelming to implement.
So now it’s really time to think and reflect (and even write down):
What is it you want more of in your life? Why?
What would you like less of?
What type of environment is invigorating and positive for you?
What brings you fulfilment?
If there was no fear of failure, what would you do?
How would you spend your last 7 days on earth?
The last question is something I was asked many years ago – it was eye-opening to write this down in detail, because I ended up realizing that a lot of these things I can actually do already NOW. Perhaps 2022 is the year you have that important conversation with someone close to you…? Or maybe it’s the year you start taking action on the thing you’ve been planning for a while?
In the times we are living right now, it’s so important that we embrace 'every day' and recognise the greatness around us – there are opportunities everywhere! It is all too easy to be surrounded by negativity and loss of hope, so that’s why one of the most important goals for 2022 is to stay grounded, positive and selective of who you spend your time with. What you watch, hear and read has a great impact on you whether you recognise this or not.
There is a great saying: “Stand guard at the door of your mind, don’t let anybody dump anything in there.” That leads me to encourage you to invest your time in upgrading your personal life and career or business. Focus on what truly matters (perhaps that’s enjoyment, family, progress) and take plenty of time off to relax too! Book that holiday, even if it’s somewhere nearby, and take a few days off from the screen – just enjoy nature and everything it has to give!
Here are my 5 top tips to make the most of 2022:
Create 2 mindmaps: personal and career/business. Describe 3-8 outcomes for each, for example: “Be and maintain good fitness and healthy nutrition”, or “Scale my business to 10k/month”. It’s useful to categorise these even more, such as in personal you could have: social, family, fitness, spiritual, hobbies. In business you could have: product development, marketing, team/outsourcing.
From these goals, write small steps to achieve and maintain them – be specific and add deadlines. You could use a free app called Asana to create lists and specific tasks – these would be shown on a visual timeline. Writing and refining your goals, outcomes and to-do-lists is an important part of the process, and ticking them off feels great as you can see and celebrate your progress.
Make sure to plan for enjoyable time off; do research and book something that you really enjoy. Perhaps this is something with your family or friends, or a weekend away just for yourself, surrounded in serenity and peace. Perhaps it’s an active week exploring the wonders of the nature – in fact connecting with nature and simply going for walks in the woods is an excellent way to stay grounded and balanced. There are countries where forest walks are prescribed by doctors to ease anxiety and depression!
Eliminate or minimize negative influences – things, people or environments that make you frustrated, annoyed or angry. Recognise when something is triggering negative emotion in you and see if you could react in a more constructive way. This is always easier said than done, however ultimately we can always choose and change our reaction to how we deal with challenges. Personal development is largely about dealing with challenges differently and more constructively than before; don’t sweat the small stuff – it’s all the small stuff!
Have fun – don’t take yourself or others too seriously but instead learn to laugh at yourself more. Do more of the things that you’ve always enjoyed and go and meet like-minded people. How about signing up for an event or playing a game? There is literally a group or resource for EVERY interest you could imagine, so surround yourself with something that brings that positive energy out of you. Life is too short to wait around and watch the world go by, instead get involved and do the things that excite you!
Getting started with your greatest year yet starts with the right mindset and focus, and reading or listening to books is the perfect way to tune into the right energies. Here are some quick book recommendations for personal and business development: https://www.idiscoverchange.com/courses/top-books-for-evolving-leaders
Here’s to a great 2022 – make it the year of the great shift and change – only you can make it happen for yourself!