2008 - Your Best Year Yet

Make 2008 Your Best Year Yet

Welcome back to Your Best Year Yet. How have you got on with the first set of discovery questions? You will probably have found that they have asked you to think a little differently and that is a good thing. Making change is like flexing and building up your muscles. An element of discomfort is inevitable. It is essential however, if you want to move outside your comfort zone and get get better results in your life. This also involves effective preparation. New Year's resolutions are oftentimes so short-lived, simply because they weren't given enough thought. The real solutions you are planning for need a healthy environment in which to grow and flourish. It's never too late, it's always early enough to begin.

Here is a review of the first set of questions that we looked at in our previous post, All Year Real Solutions.

• What did I accomplish in 2007?
• What were my biggest disappointments?
• What did I learn?
• How do I limit myself, and how can I stop?
• What are my personal values?

So now, let's move on.

• What roles do I play in my life?

This is an important step as it allows you to consider the many aspects of your life and ensures that you include each area in your 2008 plan. You might even have a new role or two that you would like to begin to play. At this point you might also want to refer back to an activity we looked at recently called ‘The Wheel of Life’. This supports you in making sure that you have balance in your life and from there allows you to open up what you plan to have as main focus over the next twelve months. Think of at least one thing that you want to accomplish in each of your roles. You will find it useful to think of yourself as the manager of your own business and that your different roles are different members of staff reporting to you. The other advantage of clarifying your roles is that you can more effectively orientate yourself around your core values. You will want to imagine yourself acting in each of your roles in a way which will demonstrate what is most important to you and in alignment with how you would like to be seen. This will give you the critical momentum you need to make to make telling and decisive changes in your results.

• Which role is my major focus for next year?
  

Before you make some final decisions on this, go back to question five and think again about your personal values. As we said in the last section, it is important to keep these in mind. You will have already seen from your ‘Wheel of Life’ activity where your life might be out of balance and this will help you to decide which role you want to make your major breakthrough in. If you are not sure which one you should focus most on, trust your intuition. You probably do know what role you want to focus on and if you don’t, ask yourself the question ‘If I did know, what role would I choose?’ and see how that works.

• What are my goals for each role?

People who clearly articulate their goals achieve more in their life. We spoke in an earlier post about how you can make sure that your goals are more achievable by making sure that they meet the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. Here we are referring to making your goals ..

• S – Specific & Simple
  
• M – Measurable & Meaningful to your values
  
• A – Attainable, As If Now & In All Areas of your life
  
• R – Realistic
  
• T – Timed, Tangible & Toward

Plenty of preparation work will be useful here and you can begin by asking yourself the question 'What would I need to achieve in each role for it to be my best year yet?' Once you have finished, review your list of goals and make sure that they are in alignment with any of your values. If you find anything that you feel less committed to, scratch it off your list.

• What are my top ten goals for next year?
  

Before you select your top ten goals again you will find it useful to review your answers so far and remind yourself of what is really important to you. Choose the goals that are most exciting for you. Select the ten that, once you have already begun to achieve them, will make the most difference to you. Prioritise your list, starting with the goals for your major focus and work your way down. Visualise your dreams and dream big.

• How will I stay constant and be sure of my success?

So how are you going to make sure that your best year yet doesn't get lost amoung the sometimes crazy world of day to day life. Well surprisingly enough, you have certainly come a long way already. You now have a clear plan and mission statement for yourself. You have exploited time, energy and a lot of motivation to get this far. first of all, stop and congratulate yourself. Then, each month set yourself new Monthly Goals to help keep you on track. Now that you are already in the rhythm, you will find it so much easier to set Weekly Goals to progress to those monthly goals. Consider working with a coach. Remember that coaching will support you in getting the results you want faster and more effectively. You will also want to consider that when assessing your success, focus on your roles and your personal values rather than the individual tasks that you achieve. This will help you to get a panoramic view of how your life is changing.

If you are interested in finding out more about making this Your Best Year Yet, check out the book by Jinny Ditzler. You can order the book from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Here is a short quote to finish.

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. The people who get on in this world are the people who look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them.
George Bernard Shaw

Make it a great week and continue making it a great year, it's your choice.

My best

Séamus