Ready to make next year, your Year of Plenty
Are you ready to make this next year your “Year of Plenty” (aka full of happiness & success)?
By now most of us will be aware of or have written down our personal goals and ambitions for next year.
We may even have put some plans in place towards achieving these goals or ticking off some of our bucket-list items.
But let’s be honest, all too often we start the year off with a lot of good intentions and renewed motivation for our personal goals but very quickly these goals and ambitions lose momentum and focus as everyday life takes over.
In fact, I usually have clients start coming to me from as early as mid-Jan or February to say they are feeling anxious or disheartened about the year ahead because they are either beginning to feel off- track or are lacking motivation to do everything that they need to do this year.
As a foundation for my coaching, I believe that in order to help individuals become resilient, and therefore able to achieve their goals and ambitions with confidence and regularity (both personally and in the workplace), they need to consistently focus and enhance their skill set around the following two key areas:
A. Their Mindset – To be positive and resourceful
B. Their Energy Levels – The art of personal endurance
With this in mind, here are my 5 top tips on how to approach, maintain and achieve personal goals in the UK for this next year. So that you can ensure that the year can be a Year of Plenty.
1) Have a constructive review of this last year
2) Link your New Year’s goals with your emotions
3) Prioritize and create balance with your list of goals
4) Become a master of your energy levels
5) Hold yourself accountable with regular check ins
1) HAVE A CONSTRUCTIVE REVIEW OF THIS LAST YEAR
Reflecting on and reviewing the past is key to improving our happiness and performance going forward. It helps us to identify our strengths and strategies for successes, whilst also helping us to identify and learn from our limitations or actions which may have slowed or halted our performance and happiness in the past.
So often we become critical or dismissive of ourselves or the situation if we don’t succeed, however this tends to make us feel worse and often we feel less motivated to continue or try again.
THE KEY:
Focus on writing down the positive traits, thoughts or actions you have already showcased, whilst turning any limitations or unwanted actions into new behaviours and approaches you would like to adopt going forward.
This will help you acknowledge and build up a powerful list of “strategies for success” when you approach this year’s goals or when you face difficult situations going forward.
2) LINK YOUR NEW GOALS AND AMBITIONS WITH YOUR EMOTIONS.
We all know if you want to make big changes in your life and business, you must first know WHERE you're going.
As much as you would put a Postcode into the SAT NAV before you start driving, this means that you should have a clear and specific vision of the outcomes you want to achieve from the start.
Once you know the destination, you can then choose HOW you want to get there depending on your other variables (time, direct/scenic route, sports car/ wagon etc.)
Creating SMART goals (Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time bound) is a great way to set good goals.
But then why is it that we often find ourselves losing focus or momentum?
Very often it is because we begin to lose focus on the WHY we are doing something.
Unless we feel really passionate about our goal or ambition we often begin to feel disconnected which in turn leads us to lose interest and motivation for its attainment.
For example, if you are passionate about your football club. Then there is often very little that will stop you from attending matches or at the very least watching it on the TV and sharing each moment with fellow supporters. This applies to any goal that you care about.
THE KEY:
Identify and connect to WHY (your real reason) you would like to achieve this goal because your emotions are key to driving your motivation.
Intentions (vision) + Emotions (motivational driver) = high goal success
Good questions to ask yourself are the likes of…..
- What is the real reason that you want to achieve this goal/ambition?
- Why is that important to you? (keep asking yourself until you get to the core positive reason!)
- What is the real benefit for you in achieving this task?
Then, check if this goal benefits you and those people around you so you don’t get unnecessary push back.
Once you become aware of your REAL/ TRUE motivational driver you will be more engaged and eager for success. You are also more likely to be more flexible and resourceful with your mindset when finding ways on how you can achieve it.
3) PRIORITIZE AND CREATE BALANCE WITH YOU LIST OF GOALS
One thing is certain, there is only one you and there are only 24 hours in a day and 365 days in a year, so you need to prioritize and align what you are spend your time and energy on.
Adding new goals and ambitions on top of an already busy schedule will only increase your stress levels and often lead to overwhelm, lack of motivation and ultimately no success.
It is also key to bring in sense of balance by assessing how our new goals will impact ALL areas of your life. For example, look at the impact that your goal will have on the following broad areas of your life: Financially, your career, your health, your family and friends, your self-development, your living environment, your passions or hobbies, your faith/ religion. If a balanced position can be achieved with everything that is important to you, you are far more likely to succeed.
THE KEY:
Create balance by prioritizing goals and ambitions that are aligned you’re your life.
When prioritizing your goals, check in that you are happy with the impact they will have on your wider life. When you add something new, decide what must change or fall away to make space for the new goal.
4) BECOME A MASTER OF YOUR ENERGY LEVELS:
Resilient and successful people have a strong ability to manage and maintain their energy levels and this enables them to perform and produce the required results at a consistent level.
You wouldn’t expect to be able to drive your car around endlessly without having to fill up with fuel. So why do we expect that we are any different? It is imperative that we look after ourselves to ensure that we have enough energy, both mentally and physically, to take on life’s challenges.
Resilient people also continuously monitor on how they are feeling energetically. They are then able to either make decisions on how to preserve their energy or draw upon a range of activities to help them to top up their energy so that they have the necessary fuel to achieve the task at hand.
Consider the following:
a) Listen and learn from Nature and the Seasons around us - Everything happens in cycles.
January/ February is usually the peak of winter in the UK, so like most animals and plants this is a good time to slow down, rest and repair your energies.
The renewed energy and inspiration built up in Winter helps us to grow (in Spring) and then blossom (in summer). Before we begin to reflect and slow (in Autumn/ Fall) before we once again enter Winter where we re-nourish and re-inspire ourselves once again.
As humans we have just finished a busy year and no doubt an even busier festive season, so it is a great time to nourish and prepare yourself for the new year ahead.
Good activities to do in the winter months is sorting out your “NEST”. This can mean tidying up and arranging our foundations (be it your home, your business, your emails etc.). It could mean mapping out your plans for what you want to achieve for this year and being creative and learning new skills so that you begin to feel inspired and energised for your fresh new year ahead.
b) Have a Nourishing Self-care routine which is adaptable for all Seasons:
By nourishing self-care I mean doing things that fill your with joy and inspiration so that you feel energised and enthusiastic.
Having a list of nourishing self-care routines allows you to choose the appropriate option based on how you currently feel. This is especially powerful when you align these activities to the Seasons around you.
Ideas may be through MOVEMENT (Yoga, running, dance etc.) CREATIVITY (art, photography, gardening, new skills etc.) or MIND (Mindfulness, meditation, reading, catching up with friends etc.) and NOURISHMENT (clean eating, massages, sleep, appropriate water intake etc.).
THE KEY:
Create your own unique list of activities that energise and inspire you.
You can then choose the relevant activity to suit your current needs and requirements so that you can perform at your best with greater ease and longevity.
5) HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE WITH SELF CHECK INS
Unlike business performance plans, we rarely maintain our focus on our personal goals or hold ourselves accountable by scheduling in time with ourselves (“our real managers”).
This is also another major reason why we often see our motivation and achievement of our personal goals and happiness fall to the wayside.
Start acting as your “own personal manager” so you can track and assess how things are going.
Here are a few guidelines to think about:
- ENSURE VISIBILITY OF YOUR GOALS:
Place your personal goals where you can constantly and easily keep them top of mind. E.g. In your office, on the fridge, as your screensaver, as a daily reminder notification etc.
- JOURNAL:
Track your performance, write down your wins, thoughts or observations.
This little black book of insights will help you to build up your list of “strategies for success” for now and in the future.
- ENGAGE AND SHARE
Remember to connect with WHY you are doing this goal and share this with others so that they may be able to offer support or encouragement along the way.
- REVIEW:
Put time in your diary for your “personal meeting” and make sure you attend.
This is a critical step to check in on how you are performing and to see if you need to make any tweaks or changes in your approach to insure a greater chance of success. It also allows you to draw up on your insights and learnings from your journal so you can be more effective. These Review sessions can be weekly/ monthly/ quarterly – depending on your style and goal requirements.
- REWARD YOURSELF:
We all like to achieve success, so be grateful for the little steps and reward yourself when you achieve a key milestone or just to thank yourself for keeping up the momentum. The rewards don’t need to be fancy; they could be something as simple as a hot chocolate or a doing something you haven’t done in a while. It doesn’t matter, the key here is to find something that is FUN and makes you feel proud that you have achieved it!
THE KEY:
Think of the best manager that you have had. A manager that made you feel supported and empowered to achieve outstanding results. Then “act as if” you are that manager and start to build up your relationship with yourself to keep you on track and motivated to achieve your goals.
As humans, we are creatures of habit and efficiency, so if we want to make a change in our lives, whether it be big or small, it takes repetition and focus. That means we need both our mindset and our energy to help us get there.
Remember to be kind to yourself and listen to what your body and mind needs so that you can efficiently maintain your focus and energy. Be your own best manager and support yourself where necessary to help you achieve a Year of Plenty in 2020.
If you are interested to finding out more or would like to chat to me about building up your confidence and resilience please get in touch with me (info@nickymassyn-lifecoach.com).
Wishing you a wonderful year ahead!
Warm wishes
Nicky