How To Have Your Best Year Ever
“Better to start early than finish late.” ―
Imagine this time next year…
You are walking down the street and you bump into yourself.
You’ve become who you said you would become.
And you’ve done what you said you would do.
And the journey has been as good as the destination.
Take a moment to imagine that; picture the delight, the pride, and the progress. Feel what it feels like to have become what you were not. Hear what you are telling yourself about the success, the lessons, and the accomplishments. You have truly had your best year ever.
As you land your best year ever, here are five concluding principles that will serve you well as we continue to map our way into the new year.
ONE
Finish your year before it starts. It’s a repeat message, I understand and it’s cliche to but it’s critical to optimising the next 12 months. When you have planned your work, you can work your plan. Create the year you most desire with the priorities you most want to achieve and follow the plan. Like a set of train tracks, once you have set out the path trust that it’s taking you to the destination you have predetermined. To paraphrase Jim Rohn, ‘set the goals high and hard because of what you BECOME by attempting to reach them.’ Having your year completed, your themes clarified, your goals articulated and your 90-day plans sorted, will give you a huge advantage on the year ahead.
TWO
Be energised by powerful clarity. In the previous blog, I spoke of SIMPLICITY but Clarity beats certainty EVERY TIME. If you wait to be certain, you will be waiting for a very long time. When you’re clear on the next best step in any area of life you MUST take it. Clarity gives you enough resource to step out. Stepping out shows you how achievable it is. This, in turn, gives you evidence that you can move towards your preferred future. The more you step forward with clarity, the more you realise that this ‘best year ever’ thing is doable. Clarity must produce purposeful action.
THREE
Move confidently towards your end game. When I set the GPS, I let it guide me efficiently towards the stated end goal. Of course, I calibrate along the way. I check the signs to make sure everything is working the way it needs to. If adjustments need to be made I make them. All those things are part of life. All those things are part of making something great. All those things are part of getting things done.
The key is you have an end game. You know your destination and you are heading towards it.
These things are cumulative. Finish your year, move with clarity, and track towards your end game. These build one on the other. Do them sequentially then allow them to create the momentum IN you and FOR you.
FOUR
Enjoy increased confidence and courage. When you aren’t certain, but you have clarity followed by purposeful action, you become increasingly confident to move into territory you didn’t know you could. As noted in the introduction, you become what you were not. This is the beauty of personal growth. This is the delight of learning new skills; this is the delight of learning about the joy of learning.
Confidence and courage are not arrogant. They are deeply held beliefs that “I can” based on the evidence continuing to be created in you and for you. They are the resources you use most when you can’t see the beginning or the end. They are the support structures that help you launch with a sense of ‘faith’ that all will be well. It’s incredible to have this level of confidence. Energising is essential to persevering and completing your best year ever.
FIVE
Continue to create your preferred future. The future you question is critical, isn’t it? “Who do you need to be and what do you need to have done to be delighted to meet yourself?” That helps you plan your best year ever. To maximise your potential and your contribution this benchmark question sets the whole plan into motion.
Right at the start of this experience, the idea that you could have the most powerful decade of your life was introduced. Rick Warren said, “You can do less in one year than you think you can and more in ten years than you think you can.” Rick is right. You are well on your way to your best year ever, and quite possibly your best decade ever.
Here’s to cheering you on.
QUESTION: What specifically do you need to do now to get started on this journey towards your best year ever? We’d love you to share your thoughts with us in the comments section.